The Good Life
by PanicButton
Summary: ReidHotchOMC: Time to settle down - but with all the whump which will happen its going to go as planned. Reid is still recovering and not getting on well with the new neighbours.
1. Chapter 1

The Good Life

_A settling in time, ... When you move into a new house, you have to take some time to settle in: - __Richard King _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

* * *

They stood and watched the removal van taking in the odd mixture of boxes and furniture into the house across the street.

Somebody had bought it from the Arlington family and since there had been builders putting on extensions and stripping the place back to the walls. Now it seemed the place was ready for the new family. This being the sort of neighbourhood where everybody knows everybody else it was quite exciting to be getting new people in that nice yellow single story dwelling nestled amongst all the others which looked the same but painted a different pale colour. Each house stood on a square of green grass at the front and a hedged garden at the back. Each had a car parked in the driveway and most had kids bikes and scooter leaning on the wall.

It was a quiet place. The sort of place where you could play ball on the street and sell lemonade on the front lawn. It was the sort of place where girls knocked on your door selling cookies for charity and at Christmas the whole street stood and sung carols in the snow. Everyone went to church and all the kids went to Sunday school. It was just that sort of place.

Today they stood and watched the big silver SUV pull up into the drive way. Mrs Colgate was there with a bowl of stew ready to hand out and Sally Parker stood with a 'welcome to the neighbourhood' scribing in pink icing across the top.

The driver's door opened and a guy slid out. The women gawped and the children grinned and the men frowned.

The man went to a rear door and opened it. Out got a child of about ten. She stood for a second looking at the people looking and turned back to the man and muttered something. He put a hand on her shoulder and bent down to whisper something in her ear.

So far so good. A very handsome guy and his young daughter. The crowd shuffled slightly to the side now so they could see the wife and mother. The guy went around to the passenger door (oh he has good manners – how sweet) and opened the door. They could see he was talking to someone but the view was blocked.

When he finally stood back they could see he was helping someone get out of the car. A hand resting on a head to stop the head getting knocked. Then a hand gipping tightly onto hand.

The crowd frowned as one. This was not the person they expected. This was not the slim pretty mother of that cute little girl. It was another guy. A tall slim guy who looked like he was simple or retarded or something. They didn't get to see his face, but they could see the unsteady way he walked and they could see long hair tied back tightly.

Obviously the backwards cousin or brother. They stood and watched until they reached the front porch and then Mrs Colgate stepped forwards and called out.

"Excuse me."

Floyd half turned to look at the welcoming committee.

"I made you something for dinner. I didn't think your – erm – you – I didn't think you would want to be cooking."

Floyd nodded and touched Rosa on the shoulder. She ran over to the woman and snatched the bowl from her hands. "Ta." She turned and walked back to the porch where Floyd was unlocking the door.

"And I made you a cake." A smaller voice called out.

Rosa turned again. "For fucks sake can you at least let us get in the front door?"

They watched as the man grabbed the child by the hair and dragged her into the house along with himself and the guy with the ponytail.

-o-o-o-

The three of them stood in their new lounge.

"Put that in the kitchen." Floyd snapped at his daughter and then turned to stand in front of Reid. "Well this is it. It's in a nice friendly neighbourhood. There are people around you. There is a telephone and when its time there is wifi. There are no stairs and all of your books are here."

"OK."

Reid just stood and looked at the dark shape in front of him. For a few days it almost seemed as though his sight was improving but then it stopped again. He was now convinced that this was it.

"Just OK?"

"No – thank you Floyd. This is more than OK." He put his hands up to Floyd's face and ran his fingers over his cheeks and mouth and then leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on the lips. "Thank you Floyd."

"That's better." He smiled. "Much better than last time."

"Yes – much better." And a half smile from Spencer.

"I will leave you to explore then. At some point we are going to have to meet the mob outside."

"It's easier when you can't actually see them."

"Babes – don't be like that. You are getting better." He ran a finger over the scar on Reid's face and across the patch he still had to wear over his eye. They had told him it wasn't damaged but they still insisted he kept it covered. The scar was still red and raw looking. Floyd couldn't see how that would fade and not be seen. Ever. That was going to be a lasting reminder of Spencer's betrayal. Floyd liked it though. He liked the idea that it would bother Spencer. He liked the idea that it would cause people to stare and want to ask questions. As long as I wasn't his own face that was fine. The lack of sight wasn't really a problem to Floyd either. Spencer was far easier to control in this condition. It was like having a new toy to play with. He just needed to train it properly. And make sure it was punished appropriately. Now he had made sure Aaron wouldn't be poking his nose in anymore it was going to be so much more fun. And very good training ground for Rosa.

Reid stood where he had been abandoned yet again. Floyd seemed to think it amusing to watch him bounce off the furniture. How the hell can you explore when you can only see shadows?

"Floyd – at least tell me where the couch is."

"Just keep walking forwards babes. You can't miss it." A voice coming from – it seemed – a different room. Just keep walking forwards – wonderful. He took a few careful steps and bumped into nothing. A few more and his leg found the edge of the couch.

Spencer sat in the same place for hours. Floyd said the occasional thing to him, Rosa asked him if he wanted dinner – which he didn't.

"You are getting too skinny." She moaned at him.

"Too skinny for what?" He snapped back. Not in the mood for her little mind games. Not today.

It was late and the shadows has become one black lump by the time Floyd finally paid some attention to the man sitting alone on the couch staring silently out into nothing. He sat with his hands stuffed up his sleeves picking and pinching and rocking gently back and forth. The hand on his shoulder made him jump and make a small yelping sound.

"It's only me babes."

"OK."

"I'm off to bed." A hand gripped Reid's elbow. "Come on let's go."

Spencer sighed and got up. This time at least Floyd led him to where their room. He had the bed from the cottage brought here and when Spencer felt the drapes and the bed covers he felt a deep dread building up inside. Floyd took him by the shoulders and slowly undid his shirt buttons.

"Don't look so worried Spence."

"I feel I have reason to be worried." He pushed Floyd's hands off him. "I will do my own shirt. I can still manage buttons."

Floyd took his hands away and moved them to Spencer's belt. "I know you can manage but I just thought you might enjoy being pampered for a while."

"Oh right. I misunderstood. I thought you were stripping me for your own enjoyment. Floyd please, can you turn off the lights."

"They are turned off Spence. Now stand still will you and let me get these things off you."

Reid stood and tipped his head back slightly. It was nice. He loved the feeling of Floyd's hands moving gently over him. It shot adrenaline through his body and made him shake. He could feel his heart pounding as Floyd's hands slid down over his hips – his fingers digging to his skin slightly as they made their way down. He could tell that Floyd was kneeling and he put a hand down and rested it on the top of his head.

His breathing was coming in quick sharp bursts and the blood was rushing in his ears and burning its way through his veins. He felt Floyd stand and the shirt slipped off Spencer's shoulders and down his arms to the floor. A mouth was nibbling and licking over his shoulders and down his arm.

Everything suddenly stopped.

Reid put his hands out to find Floyd but there was no one there within reach. He tried to control his breathing and gain control of his body again as Floyd suddenly was there at his side grabbing his arm. He twisted it until Spencer thought he was going to break it. He could feel hot angry breaths on the side of his face.

"What the hell is this?"

"Wh what?"

"This on your arms? What the hell have you been doing?"

"N n nothing." He tried to pull his hand arm away from Floyd who responded by twisting it harder. "This is nothing? You are mutilating yourself and you say it is nothing? Look at it Spence! Have you seen what you have done?"

"Shut up!" Again he tired to pull his arm away.

"You like pain? You enjoy it do you?" Saliva was hitting the side of his face now.

"Get off my arm!" And to his surprise Floyd released him but only for long enough for the hand which had been holding him to from a fist and make impact with Reid's eye. He let out a cry of shock and a whimper of fear as he felt the air being displaced as the fist came towards his face again. He tried to put up his hands to defend himself but the fist made its way through his defences and smacked him firmly on the jaw.

It didn't all go dark for Spencer. It already was dark, but his knees gave way and he felt Flanders push him back onto the bed.

"You told me I have to ask and so – please Spence my sweetness, can I have a piece of your arse?"

-o-o-o-

How many mornings had he awoken sprawled naked on his front - occasionally on his back with a painful face and a feeling of deep hatred for Flanders? Today was not an exception to that rule, but he also knew that this feeling wouldn't last. As soon as he saw Floyd this feeling would be gone. Except he wouldn't be seeing him. He pulled the bedcovers over his thin form and lay on his side shivering.

Spencer ignored the sound of the door opening and the sound of Floyd's demanding voice. "Get up, you need a shower." He lay still and pretended to be asleep. Not that it made much of a difference as Floyd grabbed at his hair and started to pull him up into a sitting position. "Don't piss me off again Spence. Just get up and come with me and have a shower. You stink. You know how I need you to be clean."

Reid was manhandled into the bathroom. He could hear the rush of the water in the shower and he could feel the hand on his back pushing him forwards. "I will get you something to wear. Be quick I have a busy day." A bottle of liquid soap was put in his hands and again he was left standing alone. With a sigh he poured soap on his hands and began to lather him self up. The soft 'splosh' sound from behind him let him know that Floyd was back and he could feel a sponge being rubbed over the backs of his legs and then slowly up to his buttock. It felt wonderful and again Reid wondered how Floyd could do this so easily to him. One minute he hated Floyd with every inch of his body and the next he was so full of want and love he thought he was going to explode. He slowly turned around to face Floyd. He smiled and put his hands out to touch the other man's chest, but he was kneeling and so Spencer touched air. Hands were touching him, and he was about to let out a soft moan of delight when he heard a shout.

"Rosa! What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

"Rosa?" Spencer moved his hands down to the person kneeling in front of him and his hands touched the head of a child. "My god – get off me!" Spencer took a step back and spun so this back was to the child. He crouched down in the bottom of the shower tray. "Oh god oh god oh god." He didn't notice that the water was turned off until the towel was thrown at him.

"You are unbelievable Spence. She is ten. She is a child. You dirty – no worse than dirt, I don't know what word would describe it."

"Floyd – I didn't know – please I thought it was you."

Now clothes were being placed in his hands. "Get dressed. I need to sort that little bitch out."

Spencer pulled a Tshirt on over his head. "Floyd – don't – don't hurt her."

"Don't tell me how to parent my offspring Spencer. Are you jealous? Is this what it is all about? You don't like me having something you will never have? You don't like that I go with whores? Live with it. Your boxers are on back to front. Let me help you."

Again Reid gave in and let Floyd dress him this time. There was something so erotic about the way Floyd dressed him, the way he touched him. The way he let his fingers just drift over his skin. A pair of shoes where put in his hands. "Get those on. We are going out to meet the neighbours."

And so the three of them were standing on the front lawn. Rosa scowled at everyone and got into the car. "Where are we going?"

"Hush babes it's alright. I need you to learn how to look after yourself. I wont always be here you know." He held Reid tightly to him and kissed his sore mouth deeply and gently. His hands wandered over Reid's back and Reid's hands found their way down the back of Floyds low cut jeans and suddenly he was gone.

"Floyd?" And he heard the sound of the SUV start. "Floyd?! What is going on?" He moved forwards a few steps and listened to the tyres crunch on the drive way and the engine noise get further away. Reid stood in the front garden and blinked. "Floyd?"

"Excuse me."

A woman's voice.

"Yes? – oh please can you help me."

"Where you and that other man just kissing?"

"He - he – he is my partner." Sounding defensive.

"We don't like your sort around here you know."

"Oh."

"What's wrong with your face. Some one cut you for being a queer?"

Spencer's hand shot to his face. "Oh no – no."

"Shame. They should have."

"Can you help me?"

"We don't have anything to do with your sort." And he listened to the sound of her feet walking away again. Reid sat down. He pulled his knees up close and wrapped his hands tightly around his legs.

-o-o-o-

Hotch was sitting at this desk. A day of paper work and his head wasn't able to get organized. He just wanted to get as much done as he could and get home. The phone on his desk rang.

"Hotchner."

He frowned and then he smiled. "Yes that is good. Send him up please." Aaron ran his fingers through his hair and stood up looking down at the bull pen. Everyone sitting with pens in hands or mouths. He looked over to the light above the elevator and closed his eyes briefly. He knew deep down that he shouldn't be doing this, but the lure was too much even for him. He slid his jacket off and loosened his tie. When he saw the elevator doors open he closed the blinds on the windows and stood next to the door waiting.

It opened without being knocked on and Floyd walked in. He kicked it closed behind him.

"How are you settling in?" Hotch hated the idea of the two – no – the three of them being together.

"Fine. Rosa is hunting. Reid is at home. Everything is good."

Hotch could feel his skin getting hot and his heart beating faster. "Was there something you wanted?" He watched now as Floyd flipped the lock on the door.

"Only you. I hope you have a spare shirt somewhere in the office." And Floyd's fingers were holding tightly onto the front of Aaron's shirt. "You know I don't want to be here with you Agent Aaron Hotcher."

"Er um. I don't want you to be here either. You will get me into trouble."

"Doesn't that make it more exciting though?" And the shirt was ripped away from Hotch's form in one experienced tug.

They knocked backs against the desk. Floyd knocked the desk fan over. Hotch dislodged a picture off the wall. The photographs went flying. The mug of coffee was spilt and the paper work slid to the floor.

"Floyd you shouldn't – shouldn't – be – here. This is – is – oh god why do you do this to me?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

-o-o-o-

It rained.

Rosa sat at the roadside waiting for her dad to get back. She had some rabbits tied together by a bit of string.

Reid sat on the grass in his front garden and rocked and put his hands up his sleeves and pinched and made strange noises he wasn't aware he was making. The rain soaked his back and ran down the back of his neck.

Aaron had a strong coffee and left for home early.

Floyd stood in the street in the rain and smoked a cheroot. His eyes had a glassy faraway look to them.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2 Confused Feelings

Confused Feelings

_In depression . . . faith in deliverance, in ultimate restoration, is absent. The pain is unrelenting, and what makes the condition intolerable is the foreknowledge that no remedy will come -- not in a day, an hour, a month, or a minute. . . . It is hopelessness even more than pain that crushes the soul: - __William Styron quotes_

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

* * *

A small hand touched his shoulder.

"Spencer."

He looked in the direction of the voice. "Rosa. It really is a bad idea for you to be here. Where is your dad?"

"I don't know. Why are you sitting out here in the dark?"

"I don't know where the house is."

He heard her sigh. "Get up and come with me."

Slowly he stood and felt the small hand in his. "You left with your dad this morning. Where is he now?"

"I don't know. He left me to go hunting and didn't come back – careful – there's a step here – and yes he didn't come back so I walked home. I got us rabbits though."

She led him into the house and directed him to the couch. "I'll get you a drink."

He sat and shivered and wondered why he was doing this to himself again. Every time. He just didn't learn. Rosa put a tumbler into his hand. "Thank you."

He felt her sit down next to him and he could smell the smoke from a cheroot. "You want a smoke? You look like you could do with one."

"No thank you." He sipped at some of the drink.

"What did you do to your arms?"

"My arms?" A bigger drink.

"Yes you have blood soaked through your shirt." And he could feel her hands on his arm.

"Don't touch me Rosa. That's not a good idea."

"I just wanted a hug from my mum. Daddy won't hug me."

A bigger swig from the tumbler. "I'm not your mother Rosa."

"No. Daddy ate my mum. What a total bastard. I bet I am the only kid on the street whose dad ate its mum."

This made Reid smile. "Yes I think you are probably right there."

"You don't look well you know." A small hand was on his forehead. "You should go to bed. I'll get your stuff ready.

-o-o-o-

Floyd stood outside the Hotchner home and smoked.

Something was very wrong. He needed to go home. He had to collect Rosa and take her home and see how Reid managed his first day home on his own, but he was unable to pull himself away from this spot on the sidewalk under the street lamp.

A couple of times he had started to walk up to the door but then he turned around and took up position under the lamp again. He watched the lounge light being turned off and then the hall light. Floyd moved nearer to the house and crouched down on the lawn. He put his fingers onto the grass and closed his eyes.

"I need to finish what I started. But I need to go home. This isn't my home. I have to go and find my daughter. She can look after her self. Spence – I have to think of Spence. I need to finish what I started though." He muttered to him self for a good hour. "I have to go in there. I need to see him. I have to resist this and just go home. Spence will need me. I will need Spence when I see him. I need to protect him. I have to go. I need to stay."

"Excuse me sir." Floyd stayed low but turned and looked up at the policeman standing behind him.

"Can't you walk around me?"

"I need you to stand up sir and explain what you are doing. The neighbours have called you in as a prowler."

"I – I will go."

"I still need you to explain what you are doing."

"This is my friend's house. I was just waiting for him." He stood. "I think he is in. I'll go knock. You will see I know him. He will invite me in." There was a strange buzzing in his head. He felt light headed and his heart was thumping too hard. Slowly he walked to the door and hammered hard. "He will let me in."

He hammered again. "Let me in Aaron. Let me in."

"Sir you have a nose bleed." The police officer was standing with him on the porch as Floyd hammered again with one hand and wiped the blood off with the other. The door suddenly opened mid hammer. Hotch was in his green robe and bunny slippers.

"Floyd."

"Aaron I need to come in. I need to see you."

"You know this man?" the officer asked.

Hotch nodded. "Yes it's fine officer I know him." He looked at Floyd. "Get in."

Aaron stood back and let Floyd in closing the door behind them.

"You can't do this. You need to go home Floyd."

Flanders started pacing up and down Hotch's hallway. "I know I know, but I needed to do something. It's – you know building up inside of me and there's nothing I can do now to stop it."

"Go and sit down and we can talk this over."

"No – no I don't want to sit. I think better standing. I need to explain something to you first because things get very complicated and I don't always follow what I am saying. I will try to explain this to you. I tried explaining it to Spence once but he doesn't understand. His – whatever it is he has – stops him from following what it is I am talking about."

"Right now I am wondering if I have what ever it is Reid has too. What are you talking about Floyd?"

"It's like this. It's the way my body chemistry works. You know we all have needs Aaron. Some of us have slightly different needs to others."

"I really do wish you would sit down."

"Aaron. I am sorry, but if I don't do this then I am going to make myself very ill. I have to do this. I need you to say you will forgive me."

Hotch was beginning to get worried now. "Do what?"

Floyd was walking in small circles now in Hotch's lounge. "I am trying to resist this. Do you realise – no of course you have no bleeding idea.."

Aaron moved over to Flanders and put a hand on his shoulder. "Try to explain."

Flanders stopped dead in his tracks and spun on Hotch. Both hands wrapped around his throat – his thumbs pressing in tightly. He stood and watched the shock register on Aaron's face and saw the way he just stood and let it happen. "Defend yourself damn you! Don't just stand there." He took his hands away again and they just stood staring at each other.

"I'm not Reid. Get out of my house Floyd. You can't treat me like a dog. Go now."

"Yes I should go." And a hand moved to Aaron's throat, only this time it was just fingertips. "Soon." Hands moved down Aaron's arms to his hands. Floyd's finger played over the back of Hotch's hands and then moved back up again. One hand held him tightly the other twisted. Aaron was forced to turn his back to Floyd to prevent his arm from being broken.

"What the hell?"

"Shut up you whore. You know you want me. You are fucking gagging for it! I can smell it on you." Floyd pushed Aaron forward towards the wall one arm twisted up behind his back and the other hand now gripping Hotch's hair. He smacked his face against the wall. Hotch was still trying to get away so he pulled his head back hard and slammed it forwards again.

Hotch felt his nose give way as Floyd smashed his face against his white wall and his head was pulled back again. This time a voice was whispering in his ear. "You will love it. I promise you will. I'm going to be gentle with you. I can have my bit of rough when I get home." If he said more Hotch didn't know as his head impacted again with the wall and the dark stars exploded in his vision just as he lost consciousness.

It was about an hour later when Floyd left again.

Aaron woke up about half an hour after that. The promise of being gentle hadn't been kept for very long.

-o-o-o-

Reid went to bed in wet clothes. He had no idea where Rosa was and right now he didn't care. He felt drunk and a bit drugged. He wondered if she had put something in his drink or if he had just drunk too much. Spencer fell asleep almost straight away and had odd dreams about fishing in a small rowing boat. He was awoken by weight on the bed next to him. A hand draped over his chest and fingers played over his skin.

"Hey Babes."

"Floyd. I was sleeping."

"I woke you up? I'm would say I was sorry, but I am still having problems understanding the meaning of that word."

"I know. Just let me sleep OK?"

"I want you to take your clothes off."

"Now?"

"Yes – now. I want to see your arms. Properly see them and I need you to tell me why you do that to yourself."

Spencer rolled over onto his back and started to unbutton his shirt. "Fine, but you won't like it."

"Since when do you give a damn how I feel?"

"Whatever you say dearest." Spencer snapped back.

"Don't start with the lip Spence. I really am not in the mood. Just show me your arms and why are your clothes damp? Actually why are you in bed with your clothes on? Have you had a shower?"

Reid ignored the barrage of words and just pulled the nasty damp shirt off and held his arms out for Floyd to see. "You want to know why I do this?"

Floyd ran fingers over the bruises and small cuts and scabs. "Yes. I don't understand this."

"You control everything I do. Right now Floyd I can't even choose what clothes to put on in the morning. I have nothing and you don't seem to appreciate that."

"You have everything! What are you talking about?"

"I need to take control sometimes. I have no control. What colour is my tooth brush?"

Floyd stopped touching Reid's arms and moved over to straddle him. "Your tooth brush?"

"Yes – my tooth brush. A simple thing like that. I have no idea what colour it is. I know it's shape and I know how it feels in my mouth, but I don't know what colour."

"Are you sure you are talking about a tooth brush? Am I meant to be looking for hidden meanings?"

"My tooth brush."

"Blue. Light blue along the top and white along the handle. The bristles are blue and white. My brush is green and Rosa has a pink one."

"Good. That's good to know. Now tell me this. How the hell am I meant to know which is mine when I cant look and see the colours?"

"Well Babes, does it really matter? I don't use mine anyway and I am sure Rosa doesn't mind sharing."

"You are disgusting – you know that don't you – when did you last shower?"

"This." Touching Reid's arm. "Is because of a tooth brush? - shower? About three months I suppose. Properly. I have got wet but not washed. Why?"

Reid reached up and touched Floyd's face. "You know full well it's not about a tooth brush, it's about me not being able to see."

"It's getting better." Floyd lay down on top of Spencer and kissed at his shoulders. "I need you."

"Not now – please – just let me sleep."

"No babes – I just want you to hold me. For once. Hold me." He rolled off Spencer and lay with his back to him. He was right Reid hardly ever actually took hold of Floyd and just held him. He wrapped his arms tightly around him and entwined his legs with Floyd and kissed the back of his dirty neck.

Floyd was a wake all night as usual just feeling Reid holding him. This was different. Floyd liked this.

-o-o-o-

"I made you guys coffee." A voice bellowed from the other side of the door. "And you gonna show me how you skin rabbits today or what? And some kid came round with a bleeding cake – so I told her to sod off and that dog was barking most of the night – dad – did you hear that bloody dog – did you? Well I sorted that, cos I didn't want Spence to wake up and now there's a copper at the door – dad are you listening to me?"

On the last word Floyd swung the door open. "The dog? What did you do to the dog?"

"I took a knife to it. It's ok, it's still fresh. They can cook it up. It wasn't very old."

Her head cracked to the side and her nose spurted blood from the slap she got around her face. "We are meant to be 'blending' in Rosa. Not killing the neighbours dog. Take the coffee in for Spence. Touch him and I will make you bleed somewhere else."

A hammering on the door.

"Shit!" Floyd walked to the door and put the chain on before opening the door a crack. "Can I help you."

A policeman stood on his porch. He really didn't want that person standing there. It felt intrusive. He suddenly slammed the door again and pulled off the chain – then swung the door open again and stepped outside with the policeman. Floyd was wearing a filthy white shirt. It had blood splatter across the front from his encounter with Hotchner and there was dried blood soaked into his shirt cuffs.

"I don't like strangers on my porch." He announced and walked off across his lawn towards the SUV parked at a strange angle on the drive.

"I wanted to talk to you about your daughter. Rosa? Is that your daughter?"

"Yes she is my daughter. Is there a problem officer?" He could see the police officer's eyes wandering over his clothing.

"We have received a complaint about a dog."

"We don't own a dog. Not a real dog. So if that is all." Floyd started to walk away again.

"She was seen walking away from the scene."

"Scene? What scene. What the hell are you talking about?"

"Do you think I could talk to the child's mother?"

"She's dead – what scene?" Standing at the foot of his porch steps.

"I'm very sorry to hear that sir, but I still need to talk to Rosa about the dog across the way there." The police officer was walking towards Floyd's porch again.

Floyd was getting really pissed off now. He had a busy day ahead of him and this was just not what he needed right now. "I don't know what you are talking about." Talking through gritted teeth.

"Your daughter killed your neighbour's dog sir."

"ROSA! Get your arse out here!"

Less than a minute later and the policeman was looking down a the sweetest ten year old girl he had ever seen. Deep dark eyes and a beautiful big smile. One of her cheeks was a bit rosy but apart from that she looked the very picture of innocence standing there in her blue jeans and HighSchool Musical Tshirt. Her hair was in bunches.

"Daddy? What's wrong."

Officer Woodley could smell fresh baking and candy floss.

"This man says you hurt a dog sweetheart."

"Oh! Daddy I love animals. You know I would never hurt an animal." Big saucer sized tears popped out of her eyes and raced down her cheeks.

"I know you wouldn't darling. I just needed this kind policeman here to understand it too."

Officer Woodley understood totally. There was no way that this child could hurt an animal. Indeed she was probably a vegetarian. So he smiled at the father and daughter and said he was sorry there had been a mistake and he walked back to his car whistling a tune he made up as he went along.

They walked back into the house together and slammed the door behind them.

"Too close Rosa. Too close to home. Don't do that again." He walked over to the table and picked up his car keys. "I will be gone a few hours. I need herbs and shit. Don't wander off – and keep your little hands to yourself."

-o-o-o-

Spencer managed to find something to wear. Clean boxers and a pair of trousers. He put on a shirt of unknown colour and socks which he made sure were different by the texture of them and now he sat on he bed.

"Spence." The little voice. "I am going outback to play for a while. I want to practice with those rabbits."

"Sure. I will be here if you need me. Don't wander off."

And so he sat.

And he sat.

And he recited poems in his head and he sat some more.

Someone was home. He heard the front door slam. So now he sat with a smile on his face. What he really wanted was a coffee but Rosa hadn't come back in from the back yard yet and he wanted to just leave her to play and do things kids do, and not burden the child like he had been.

The rush of air against his skin as the bedroom door was opened and he saw the shadowy form walking towards him.

"Where is she?" A question he half of expected but not in the voice he had. This wasn't Floyd.

Spencer swallowed and stood up. "Who?"

Something hit him hard in his stomach. Spencer let out a howl of pain and doubled over.

"You know what happens when you lie to me Spencer – so just tell me where Rosa and Floyd are and we will leave you alone."

Spencer sat back onto the bed. "I don't know."

Whatever it was which had hit him in the stomach was now cracking against his skull. He let out a moan of pain and surprise and fell side ways onto the bed. He could hear talking and then he heard a child scream. Spencer kicked and hit out at the people in the room with him. but he failed to make contact with anything.

Something grabbed him by the ankles and started to drag him off the bed. He pulled at the bedding trying to stop them as he heard Rosa crying out "Spencer help me!" and her howls of pain.

Reid was dragged to the bathroom and pushed into the shower.

It seemed that they took it in turns.

A fist to his face.

A bat across his knees.

They spun him around and ground his face into the tiles. They hit him across the back with the bat and they screamed at him what they were going to do with the little whore he took from them and what they were going to do to Floyd.

And they kept asking. "Where is he? Where is Floyd?"

Again he was turned to face them and someone grabbed his hand. He had a strong suspicion it was Iolanda. He felt something being placed in his hand at the same time something cold and hard was pressed against his bleeding lips.

"Open your mouth before I shoot your damned brains out over the white tiles."

Spencer stood with the thing in his hand and his jaw clamped shut.

"Ok open your mouth before we hurt your precious Rosa."

Still his jaw stayed shut – it was when he heard Floyd's daughter scream again that he slowly opened his mouth. The hand gun was pushed into Reid's mouth so hard that his head cracked back against the tiles and made his head spin. He squeezed his eyes shut ready for Iolanda to pull the trigger.

When it didn't happen he opened his eyes and saw in front of him the blurred image of the man who had stoned Aaron and beaten him half to death. The gun was pressed deep into the back of Reid's throat.

"Spencer – you continue to piss me off. You are the most stubborn creature I have ever known – after Floyd. It's not brave or clever you know. It's your lack of understanding of this situation. I have had enough of you Spencer. You are not one of us. You never will be and so there is little point in asking you to come back with us and join in the party and so it stops here. Right now. In the shower – but you have a choice. I am good to you Spencer. I give you options. Option one, I can pull the trigger and thus I have taken control of this situation, or option two, you can take that blade I have put in your hand and you can stand there and take control of your own fate and slit your wrists."

Reid just stared at the man who had now cocked the gun ready.

"Do you want me to decide for you and take away the last of your choices? Or do you want to do this yourself."

Spencer wanted to nod but blinked at Iolanda.

He felt the gun being pulled from his mouth and stood staring at him.

"Your wrists Spencer. Now."

Reid was looking down at the small blade he had in his hand. It was still foggy and out of focus but he could see it.

"No – I won't do it. That is my choice."

Iolanda called out for someone called Jules – who arrived with a squirming Rosa in his hands. Iolanda picked her up and sat her in the washbasin. He then pushed her head back and slid the gun slowly into the child's mouth.

"Now you have a different choice to make. Your or her Spencer."

"I won't give into you Iolanda. You can't make me do this." Again he heard the gun being readied and he could see the enormous terrified eyes of a ten year old child.

It was quick. Much quicker than he thought it would be. He tried not to cut too deeply, but it sliced nicely and actually it felt quite good. He sliced his arm from elbow to wrist and watched the blood ooze and then pour. Spencer sunk to his knees in the shower and looked at his blood dripping down his arm and along the palm of his hand and then with soft splats off the ends on his fingers. The world went grey. Then it blacked out completely as he tipped forwards still kneeling and rested his head on the wall.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3 The Sewing Kit

The Sewing Kit

_Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful: - __Buddha _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

* * *

It was quiet when Floyd got home. The lights were off and as he got out of the car he could smell it. A deep sickly smell of blood. Spencer's blood. Spencer's fear and Rosa's.

He stood for a minute on the lawn looking at the dark quiet house and tried to sort the scents out in his mind. He wiped at his mouth with the back of a blood smeared hand and lit up. Slowly he walked to the porch and took the step to the boards in front of his door. Floyd crouched down and placed his fingers on the dry wood and took a long deep breath.

Now slowly standing he pushed open the front door. The room didn't look disturbed at first. A half drunk glass of juice stood on the side but apart from that it was as he left it. Almost.

He hadn't left it with this energy pulsating through it. He hadn't left it with these smells.

Fear and pain.

And blood.

"Rosa! Spence!"

Silence.

Again he stood and took in the air.

He walked fast and then he broke into a run.

He went to the bedroom and looked.

The bedding was pulled half off the bed, and the smell of fear permeated the essence of the room. He turned and looked in Rosa's room. Nothing.

And now he was standing looking at the bathroom door. There was no sound of water. No sound of anything. He turned the door handle and pushed it open with his foot. Spencer was laying on the floor with a towel in his hand. One arm stretched out in front of him, and the other he was laying on. He was fully dressed and dry and not moving. It was from here that the greatest smell of blood and fear was coming from. And an underlying stench of Iolanda.

"Spence." Floyd moved to him and rolled him over onto his back. His unpatched eye was staring right at Floyd. The front of his shirt was sodden with dark red blood. He had wrapped a towel around his left arm in an attempt to stem the flow. "Spence – where is Rosa?"

Reid blinked and licked his lips. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't bloody well know?"

"They took her. I'm sorry Floyd."

"They took her. Just like that? Did you follow them or try to help her? Was she hurt?"

"I – I couldn't."

"You couldn't so you came in here and sliced yourself? I hope you don't expect me to feel sorry for you. You fucking waste of space. Get up and come with me."

"Floyd – They had guns. What was I meant to do? They – they – I couldn't do anything! I could even see who it was at first. I had a gun stuffed down my throat, what the hell was I mean to do?!"

"You were meant to protect my daughter!" He pulled Reid up by the arm which wasn't bleeding and half dragged him to the dining table. "Sit there. Don't you damned well move. You are incredible Spencer. You blow my mind with you total ineptitude."

"I don't know what to say." Reid looked at the soggy towel. "They made me do this Floyd. I didn't want to."

Floyd came back and stood in front of him. "They made you slice your skin? Why would Iolanda do that to you? Why didn't he just do us all a favour and pull the trigger when the gun was 'stuffed down your throat'. I expect you enjoyed that – stop moving your arm. I'm gonna stitch it."

"It doesn't need stitches I was careful not to cut too deeply."

"You fucked up then didn't you. Keep still."

Reid tried to squirm his arm out of Floyds grasp as he saw his sewing kit being opened up. "No! no Floyd really leave it. The bleeding has stopped." And again he tried to pull his arm away.

Flanders twisted Reid's hand so it was palm up and pulled the towel off from where Spencer had wrapped it. "Keep still." He pulled out a small knife and looked down at Reid's arm.

"Stop it Floyd. What do you think you are playing at?"

The small knife went through Spencer's palm and into the table. He yelled out in pain and tried to jerk his hand out of the way, but it was pinned down.

"Now will you keep your sodding arm still?"

Spencer just sat and looked into Floyd's eyes. His sight was still blurry but he could see enough to notice the smear of blood across his face and now he looked closer he could see the splatters up his sleeves and the dark dried blood behind his fingernails. Tears of pain and frustration crept out of his eyes and loped slowly down his cheeks.

"I did this so they wouldn't hurt Rosa. Why are you doing this to me Floyd? What did I do wrong this time?"

"You fell out of the stupid tree this morning didn't you? What did you do wrong? Why am I doing this to you? She is my little girl Spence. I can't replace her. She is unique. You failed in your duty. You let them take her from me again. Now I have to go and find her."

"I stopped them killing her! I did this to save her!"

"No! No Spence you did this because it was the easy option. They would never hurt Rosa. Ever. You really think they came back and took her just so they can hurt her? What were you thinking?"

As Floyd spoke he stitched together the wound in Reid's arm. Spencer just sat and looked at the knife sticking his hand to the table.

"Where have you been? She is your daughter – why leave her with me? Where has all the blood come from Floyd? Please tell me you haven't been out 'hunting'"

"I wasn't out hunting Spence. I went and got herbs."

"And they ambushed you?"

"Pardon?" Floyd looked into Reid's wet hazel eye.

"They ambushed you?" He repeated. "The blood. I wondered where it came from."

"I had a nosebleed."

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Yes fine – whatever Floyd." Spencer moved his other hand over and grabbed the knife handle.

"What are you doing?"

Reid pulled his hand back again. "Ungrateful sod you are Spence."

"What's got into you recently Floyd? I don't get it. If you don't want to be around me why do you drag me around with you? If I am such a waste of skin, why are you still here? What is it I have you need so desperately?"

"Nothing babes. You have nothing. I have taken everything from you. Bled you dry and now you have nothing to offer me I can't get elsewhere with a bit more – I don't know – a bit more excitement I suppose. Spencer – you are boring – but reliable. You are my kicked dog. You are pathetic and I don't like the look of you now, but I am sort of addicted to you."

"Thanks."

"Welcome. I love the scar. I love the patch over your eye and I love your hair tied back. I just need some of that old fire you used to have. I need you to fight back. I don't want a punch-bag Spence. I want what we used to have."

"You knocked my fight out of me Floyd. I have nothing left."

"Give me your hand babes."

Reluctantly but with not much choice he lifted his hand off his lap and held it out to Floyd. It was taken and each finger was gently kissed. Floyd nibbled on Reid's wrist. "You have beautiful hands Spence." Floyd ran his teeth behind Spencer's fingernails and then held it tightly in his hand. A bit too tightly. "It's such a shame. But I need to teach you a lesson. Floyd pulled something out of his sewing bag.

He slapped Reid's hand on the table. Palm up and impaled his hand onto the table with a pair of scissors. Reid let out a howl of pain and shock and stood up as Floyd now moved around the table quickly and pulled Reid down into the chair.

"Sit the fuck down."

"Floyd! What – p please. S stop this!"

"No – no I won't stop this! Don't you tell me what to do you little shit. Head on the table. Now – head on the table now Spencer or the next thing I stick a pair of scissors in with be your groin."

Floyd pushed Reid's head down onto the table so that his bad eye was closest to the surface. "Please. What are you doing? Floyd don't do this. I am sorry. I am sorry!"

Flanders moved away from the table and grabbed something else from his bag. Reid's face was looking the other way and so he couldn't see what Floyd had planned. He tied Reid's legs to the chair legs and then the chair legs were tied to the table legs. He was stuck sitting with his hands pulled out at arms length spread across the table.

Reid didn't resist. There was no point. He just lay across the table looking occasionally at the blood coming out from under his hands and let Floyd do what he needed. He really had nothing left in him now to fight this. If Floyd had walked over and broken his pathetic neck now he wouldn't mind. He had let him down. He had let Iolanda take Rosa. He hadn't fought for her. He hadn't given his life for the child.

And now Floyd did the last thing Spencer expected him to do. He climbed up onto the table next to him and started to kiss the back of his neck. "I have this feeling I might love you. I'm not sure. I don't know if that is what this is called. Love – or addiction. I don't know the difference. I know I can't be without you. I know I am not good for you and I know I have just hurt you but Spence I would – if I could – you know I would die for you." More kisses and nibbles. "You smell so divine. I can't resist you. I can't not have you near me. But you need to learn some rules Spence. You seem to have forgotten them. I am going to leave you here to think about it. When I get back with Rosa I will ask you what you have learned from this."

"Floyd – don't leave me here."

"This is what I am talking about babes. Don't tell me what to do. Don't EVER tell me what to do." He got down off the table and stroked the back of Spencer's head. "Take care; I will be back as soon as possible. Within a week - I promise.

"A week! No Floyd!" He heard the door slam shut. "Floyd! Come back!"

He was about to shout out again, to call for help when he heard footsteps behind him. "You just don't learn do you? I was hoping you would keep quiet but I can see I will have to fix that too."

"I'm sorry! P p please F Floyd I – I am sorry!"

He pulled Reid's head around so he could see his face and snagged some cloth out of his kit bag. He stuffed some wadding into Reid's mouth and then gagged him tightly with thin supple leather strips. "Face the wall."

Floyd pulled Reid's ponytail tight and then used the staple gun to hold his hair to the table – thus keeping Reid's head down and unable to move.

When he left he went without saying a word. He didn't say goodbye, he didn't curse at him…he just left. He didn't see the tear running out of the corner of Reid's eye.

-o-o-o-

He tried phoning the house and got no reply. He paced up and down the lounge looking at the havoc left behind by Floyd. There was blood smeared up the wall and sprayed over the rug.

Aaron had showered slowly in warm water and washed every part of him he could reach with a rough cloth. He should report this. He knew he should be reporting it and if he was on the other end of this problem he would advise it was reported and wonder why the victim didn't want to.

Hotch stood for about an hour just looking at himself in the mirror. More bruises to his face. His nose was swollen and didn't look quite right. He was hoping it was just soft tissue swelling. He touched it carefully and winced at the pain. His lip was split, his fingernails broken. The taste he had in his mouth was something he didn't think any amount of coffee was going to get rid of.

He needed to talk to Floyd. He needed to – needed – he needed Floyd. Hotch ran his fingers through his dark hair and looked at his tired eyes. He pulled on a sweat shirt and a pair of old jeans and tried Floyd and Reid's home phone again. Still no answer so he had a strong coffee and called again. No answer. A drink of whiskey. No answer.

Hotch spent the next hour kneeling in front of the toilet. His stomach cramping and his throat sore from the acid he was now bringing up. He showered again. He changed his clothes. He sat in the spare room and stared at a picture of a vase of flowers and then he had a soak in the tub.

Aaron got a pre-packed sandwich out of the fridge and sat on the couch looking at the blood and wondering what to do. He had called in sick. He had man flu – his nose was blocked and he had a temperature. It was a paperwork day. The team didn't need him. He couldn't lead jack in this state. He nibbled around the edges of the bread and then had to empty what he had just eaten into the downstairs toilet.

He had to pull the control back. He knew he could do it. He had to do it or he would never be able to function again. It was what he was all about. Being strong and in control. Not letting his emotions show. Why did he allow Floyd to do that to him? He knew he could have stopped it. He knew deep down that he could have taken back the control – and now it was too late.

He called Floyd's number again. Still no answer and so he set the alarm and check all the windows and doors and he pulled the throw over him and curled up on the couch. He couldn't sleep. He knew if he slept then Floyd would be there when he awoke and he needed their next meeting to be on his terms. He wanted to be the one to call Floyd and demand his attention. It could only be like that.

He wondered how many rape victims really never revealed what had happened. He wondered how many other men were sitting alone wondering the same thing. He wondered how Reid had coped with it for so long. Even when he was at the BAU still he managed to get into work and do a damned good job too…right up to the end. Right up until Floyd completely broke him.

Was that why he was sniffing around him now? He didn't understand. He knew that there were personal issues between Floyd and Morgan, but why was Floyd showing interest here now. Hotch thought he was the one person Reid was told to keep away from. He thought it had been because he didn't like the idea of Spencer getting comfort, but now this profiler was thinking he had been way off. They all had been and it made his skin crawl.

He picked up the phone for another call to the Flanders house and again there was no answer.

Aaron now rotated between cleaning his teeth and drinking mouthwash, taking hot showers, throwing up in the toilet, drinking coffee and having baths. Between each of the things in his cycle he phoned Flanders and got no answer. He changed his clothes until there was nothing left for him to wear and was now standing at his front door - shaking with the thought of what he needed to do – wearing black combat trousers and black capped sleeved Tshirt. He bent down and with trembling hands he laced his boots.

He went quickly to the downstairs bathroom again and just checked that there was nothing left inside of him to vomit up and then stood and looked in the mirror. This wasn't the man he was used to seeing. His hair needed a cut. He pushed his dark hair off his forehead and tucked a wayward bit behind his ear. He couldn't remember when he had last had hair this long. Haley had always insisted he kept it very short. Maybe it was time for a change. Just maybe this was the new Aaron.

It was time. I was time to take matters into his own hands and confront Floyd on his territory. He couldn't keep letting him in his home. His secure place. His familiar surroundings were getting soiled by him. He needed this place to stay clean from Flanders contamination. If it wasn't too late. If it was he would sell up and move.

He left the house and drove to the Flanders residence.

-o-o-o-

Reid pulled at his hands for a while but the blade and scissors where too far into the wood to be able to dislodge them. He tried to move his head but nearly scalped him self in the process. The wadding in his mouth had sucked up all the moisture. He tried to dislodge his legs and feet but they were held too tightly.

The only good thing about this – and Spencer marked this down in his mind of evidence that Floyd did love him afterall – was the fact he was sitting. He curled his toes up and rubbed the ends of his toes of the parquet flooring. He wanted to stay awake. He desperately needed to stay awake. He dare not be sleeping when Floyd got back and so he talked to him self in his head and recited nursery rhymes. He hummed classical music. He talked to his mum and he begged Floyd to come back in silence.

He awoke with a start. Someone was hammering on the door. He tried to call out. He wanted whoever it was to come and get him, but the gag stopped all sound. He tried pulling his head off the table so he could at least make a sound that whoever this person was could hear. He tried rocking the chair but the spikes in his hands started to pull and bleed again so all he could do was lay and listen.

"Flanders – Reid – anyone there?"

'_Hotch – oh god it's Hotch. He would rescue me. He would make this all right again – but I have to keep away from him. Floyd will hurt me if Hotch comes near me. Please don't come in Aaron. Please don't find me.'_

-o-o-o-

Aaron saw that Flanders car wasn't there. He saw all the lights off. He knew in his heart that Floyd wasn't here but he hammered on the door anyway. He called out to Floyd and Spencer, but there was no answer. For a while he sat on their porch and thought what to do.

Only one option – he had to go home and shower. He had to try to eat something. He had to stay at home. Out here – out at Floyd's house he could feel the small amount of control he had gained back slipping away from him.

Hotch stood up and looked at the house again. He tried looking through the window but the curtains were closed tight against any such peeking. So he got in his car and went home again.

He raided his fridge and found ice cream.

He spent the next two hours kneeling in front of the upstairs bathroom toilet controlling it. Staying in control as his stomach cramped and he brought back up his butter pecan ice cream.

-o-o-o-

Meanwhile.

Floyd was killing stuff.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4 Decisions

Decisions 

_Let the punishment fit the crime__: - Proverb_

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

**A/N: don't blame me if this is bit odd…blame my other head.**

* * *

He knew that if he didn't do something he would die. He also knew if he did do something Floyd's anger would be uncontrollable. Either way a lot of pain was going to be involved and now the darkness had crept over the room – that deep blackness he had been living in for so long – it almost felt comforting.

Spencer knew the statistics. He had a pretty good idea how long he had, and it wasn't a week. Slowly he started to rock his head trying to remove the staples Floyd had attached his hair to the table with. His eyes watered as he felt his hair getting torn out by its roots and the fingers in one hand tried to make a fist where in the other his fingertips clawed at the table top.

He had no idea how long he did this for. It might have been hours or minutes. He had lost all sense of time in his panic to get off this table. When his hair finally gave way with a sickening ripping sound the pain he had caused by the action was lost in the euphoria that he could suddenly move his head. Then the shear panic of what would happen if Floyd came home and found him like this. Trying to get away. Then again if he didn't do something he would be dead well before the week was up, but then again if he didn't he would die by Floyd's hands.

Spencer now wished he hadn't done it. He wanted to will his head back to the table again. He needed water. He wanted to scream and shout and throw things in frustration.

He looked at this hands. One was palm down with a knife through it and the other was palm up with scissors through it. Scissors. He needed to get the scissors and then he could cut off the gag. He could cut off the bindings around his legs. He sat and stared at them. He imagined what it would be like to have them in his hands. All the things he could do with scissors. Put an end to all of this for a start. He moved his gradually stiffening fingers so that they touched the cold metal of the scissor blades. He pushed at them gently to see if the would move. Nothing. He tried wiggling his hand, but still nothing. Slowly he started to press on them with his fingers. _'I can work it loose and then I can pull out the knife and I will be free – and then what? Wait for Floyd to come and get me?'_

He sat and looked at the knife and the scissors again. He had no choice and he knew it. He would have to sit here and wait and hope that he didn't get into trouble for pulling his hair out. Then again Floyd said he wanted to see more fight. Maybe this was what he wanted? Maybe he would get a positive reaction for not just sitting here and letting it happen.

Spencer rested his head back on the table where he had just escaped from. He had no idea what course of action to take. His brain wasn't working properly. He couldn't decide. _'Lay here and wait. Just keep still and wait. He will come back and it will be alight. But you will need water Spencer you know you will die without water so what do you intend doing about that?'_

Slowly and gently he began to rock his head again trying to think – trying to work out what was going to happen. Floyd would know he couldn't last a week and he was sure Floyd wouldn't want him dead and so he will be coming back. That was his final decision. He wouldn't mind that he could move his head. Please don't let him mind.

-o-o-o-

The next evening. In the dark. Music playing. Sandwich wrappers on the floor. He was feeling more in control again. More like his old self. He looked over at the telephone.

Still no answer. Something was wrong. He paced the room and he drank more coffee. He needed to go and check up on things again. He wanted to see if Floyd was back. He needed to confront him on this.

Tomorrow.

Get some sleep first.

Do it in the morning.

He sat down on the couch and looked at the grate he still hadn't cleared out.

Aaron was still sitting there when the birds began to sing. He looked down at his hands and decided. Today – yes today – after his cornflakes and milk and sugar – then he would confront Floyd.

-o-o-o-

The gentle head rocking became harder. He turned his head so he was face down and smacked his forehead on the table and then he did it again. And then he did it harder.

'_That's better Spencer. Take control again. Don't let the bastard do this to you.'_

Smack

'_Hit it harder Spencer. You are pathetic! Do you know the last time you fought back against him? Why do you let him do this to you? What is it about him?'_

Smack

'_You can do better than that. I want to see blood. Harder Spencer. Take control Spencer."_

Smack.

-o-o-o-

Floyd stopped killing things.

-o-o-o-

His head spun and the voices got louder and louder. He wanted to scream at them and tell them to shut up. Just shut up and leave him alone. His tongue was swollen, not that it made much difference, not that it mattered.

Day two – was this day two or still the same day? He couldn't remember and so he continued to smack his head on the table to try to at least _'Get rid of that headache Spencer. Do something about the headache.'_

He was too hot. Much too hot. He could feel his skin tight and dry and his lips cracked and bleeding.

And he started to shake. He could feel his hands twitching and on one hand the continual clawing of the table and the other the clenching and unclenching.

'_I'm going to be sick. I am going to be sick and choke on my own vomit because I am gagged. I won't die of lack of water. Floyd won't be back in time. Someone – anyone please know I am here. Someone come and help me.'_

His arms went into shaking spasms that he was unable to stop. He could feel the skin on his hands ripping and wondered if he could just rip his hand off the knife. It wouldn't hurt. But as the spasms and cramps died down in his arms and he finally stopped shaking he thought maybe it was time to sleep. Just lay down and sleep. Wrap arms tightly around someone and feel safe. It was time for that now.

Spencer closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift again. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest and he could feel his breaths getting faster.

'Don't panic Spencer. You can't afford to panic. He would have won. If you are going to die here let it be with some dignity. Don't worry that you are sitting in piss. That's not a problem right now. Just think about……"

He felt it crawling up from his stomach and managed to force it back down again. _'You cant be sick Spencer you cant be sick you cant be sick you cant be sick.'_

Fatigue. It took over and forced Spencer into a sleep he didn't want. As he slept his body cramped and his limbs shook. As he slept he moved his head from side to side continuously. A low keening sound could be heard. So quiet it was hardly a sound at all.

-o-o-o-

Hotch stood outside the house. The silver SUV was there now. Floyd was home. Aaron took a deep breath and walked up the path to the porch. He would confront Floyd and sort this out once and for all.

He knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked harder. Aaron knew Floyd was there. He must be there if the car was. He stood and waited. He called out Floyd's name and then he called Reid and still nothing.

The frustration was getting the better of him. He had mentally prepared himself for this. He had worked out what he was going to say. He was not going to let Floyd win but already he could feel a small niggling doubt.

"Damn you Flanders open the door!"

Aaron leaned his forehead on the door and took some deep breaths and it was now he heard it. A strange noise. A sort of whimpering and a banging. It made the hair stand up on the back of Aaron's neck. That was the sound of someone in distress. He recognised that sound.

Hotch put his hand on the front door and pushed. He wasn't expecting it to, but it swung open. The room was dark and there was a dreadful smell. Aaron felt around for the light switch but when he flicked it down nothing happened. He could see in the dim light someone sitting at the table. It was from there that the sound was coming from and as he got nearer it seemed it was from here the smell was coming from too. Slowly he walked forwards until he could see what it was.

"Reid? What's wrong?"

As he moved to the table he saw. He could see the things pinning Spencer's hands to the table and he could see the blood smeared over the once shiny dark oak surface. The only good thing was that Reid was still moving and making a noise.

He moved to pull the knife out of Spencer's hand. "It's OK Spencer. I am here. I will get you out of this place. Just stay with me. As his hand touched the blade handle a voice spoke to him.

"He won't learn if you let him off every damned time. Leave him."

Hotch turned quickly to see sitting back in the shadows a dark form watching him. "Floyd – you can't do this to him. You are killing him."

Aaron went to pull at the blade again.

"I will kill him if you touch that blade again. I said leave him. I am tired Hotchner. Go home. Leave this. It's not your business." In a blink Floyd was standing there next to Aaron. "I am training him. I need him to learn his lesson. That wont happen if you keep mothering him."

Hotch's hand wrapped around the blade at about the same time Floyd pulled him back out of the way. The physical strength from Floyd was more than enough to keep him away from the table.

"I said leave him. What are you here for? What do you want?"

-o-o-o-

Spencer could hear voices. There were people here! He could hear Floyd and he could hear Aaron. Any second now and he will be free. They have come to get him.

The vomit tried to make its way back up again and in his panic he tried to swallow it back down, but it didn't quite work right. He felt the wadding slide back down his throat.

'_Way to go Spence. Wait for them to come to rescue you and then kill yourself. Good one.'_

'_That's fine though. I get the feeling you don't really care anymore'_

'_It's been said it is the only way you will ever escape Floyd now. You might was well just die.'_

'_Crazy person! Get some help. It's not your time yet. Draw attention to yourself.'_

'_That's the way! Smack your face on the table!'_

-o-o-o-

They both turned when they heard the strange noises and the sound of flesh on table. Hotch went to run forwards again but Floyd had his arm.

"Don't."

Hotch spun on him.

"Let me go. You cannot control me Floyd. I am not one of your dogs to kick. I am not going to keep coming back to you for more. Not unless I want it. I haven't been constantly drugged and abuse by you. I still have what makes me what I am. You cant take that from me and part of that is not being bullied by you. You are weak Floyd. You are stupid and you are weak and I won't go down to your level. I won't bow down to your demands. If you thought that my love for Spencer meant you could control me then you best think again." A breath. "If – and only if I decide I wish to resume a relationship of any kind with you Floyd it will be on my terms – not yours. Now release Spencer before he chokes to death and get him something to drink."

"Screw you."

"Yes – you did. Big man Floyd. You must be very proud of yourself. I am sorry that it didn't do to me what you wanted it to." He grabbed the knife handle and with a big tug pulled it out of the table. "Get him a drink."

"Gatorade." Floyd put a bottle of blue liquid on the table. "Electrolytes. He will need them.

"How long have you been here watching? How much pleasure did you get from this?"

"None. I got nothing from this Agent Aaron Hotchner – this was a lesson for Spencer. He failed. He won't fail again."

Aaron pulled the gag off Spencer's mouth as Floyd pulled out the scissors. "Failed in what? What on earth could he have done to deserve this?"

"He didn't die for Rosa. He let them take her and he was still moving. He not only failed me, but he failed a ten year old child."

Reid was muttering to himself as Hotch pulled him up to a proper sitting position and tried to get Reid to cough up what he had obstructing his air way. He coughed big dry angry hacks and spat out blood covered wadding onto his damp lap.

"She's your child not Spencer's. It's your duty to care for her. Not his. Don't transfer the blame Floyd. Accept that you are wrong occasionally. You never know, it might become a habit."

Hotch felt Floyd's hand moving over his back. "Relax Aaron – he will be fine."

"No I won't relax and he won't be fine. Get your hands off me and call an ambulance. Now. Move.

"Oh my Aaron – you do have a lot of fire burning today. Fine – I will call for medics, and then you and I will continue our little chat."

Floyd moved to the telephone and made a call while Aaron untied the bindings around Reid's legs. He lowered him carefully to the floor all the while talking softly to him.

"It's OK Spencer. I am here. You will be fine." He held the sliced hands and stroked the blood encrusted hair and looked at the far away staring eye. He watched helplessly as Reid started to shake and go into spasms again as his muscles contracted. "Floyd – you will pay for this. I promise you will."

"Oh I hope so." Floyd stood behind Hotch and ran fingers through his dark unruly hair. "You need a hair cut."

* * *


	5. Chapter 5 Taking it Back

Taking it Back

_The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions: - __Thich Nhat Hanh _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

**A/N: A bit shorter than I have been posting recently, but it was the right place to stop for his chapter. **

* * *

Hotch continued to drip the sports drink into Reid's mouth as Floyd stood over them and watched. He moistened Reid's cracked and bleeding lips with the liquid.

"I just don't understand you. Why do you do this to him? What fun do you get out of degrading someone to these depths?"

"You think I enjoy this?"

"Why else would you do it? Were you seeing how long it would take for him to die? What _was_ the point it in Floyd? What do you really think he might have learned from this?"

Floyd looked at Reid for a while and then walked away. "I expect him to learn to do what is expected of him." He reached down and picked up his work box.

"I wouldn't treat a dog like this Floyd. Any one else would be in jail for this."

Floyd sat down crossed legged next to Spencer. "He's not a dog Aaron. He is Spence and thus gets this special treatment. Keep giving him that drink. I have more of them if needed." He pulled a small collection of things out of his bag and pulled Spencer's right hand over to rest on his lap. Hotch looked over at him and frowned.

"What are you doing?" He leaned closer.

"Stitching. It needs a few stitches. He pulled on the blade when he was having the muscle spasms."

Aaron's eyes went wide for a split second then his hand moved over to Floyd's and slapped the things out of his hand. "Is this what this mess up his arm is? Your handiwork again? Wait for the medics. Just wait."

"The handiwork as you so nicely put it is mine. I could have left him laying on the bathroom floor bleeding out from where he had sliced into his arm though. You are unpredictable Hotchner. I thought you wanted him alive."

Aaron continued to drop the blue sports drink down Reid's throat and slowly Spencer began to flex his fingers and curl his toes. "Where the hell is that ambulance? Leave his hands Floyd. Let the medics deal with it."

Floyd picked up his sewing things again. "There is not going to be an ambulance Aaron. I will fix him. It was only two days and for one of those I was here watching him. He is fine. Well OK he's not fine, but he will be - eventually and then I can see if this worked."

"What do you mean no ambulance? I saw you call them. He needs to be in hospital Floyd. Get me the phone."

"He needs a drink and a shower. Stop mothering him Aaron. You are stunting his emotional growth."

Hotch stood up and looked down at Floyd who had begun to sew Reid's hand back together. "Get up." Floyd looked up at him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said get up. Get up off the floor."

"I need to do this Aaron."

Hotch reached down and grabbed Floyd by the hair and pulled it upwards towards him. "I told you to get up."

Slowly Floyd stood. "You need to let go of me Aaron. I am not in the mood for this."

Hotch released Floyd's hair and moved his hand down to his neck. Aaron pushed Floyd back so his back was against the wall and their noses where nearly touching. "You will leave Spencer alone. You will walk out of this place and never return. Do you hear me Floyd? This is it. This is the last time. I hope you enjoyed it because now I have a far better insight into what makes you tick and I know what you have put Reid through and it will not happen again. No more. Get your stuff and go. Now."

Floyd put his hand around the back of Hotch's neck and slid his fingers though the hair touching his collar. "You don't mean that. I know you don't mean it. Come on Aaron. We can have fun. Reid won't mind. Actually it will give him a break. What say you Agent Aaron Hotchner? Fancy a shower?"

"Take your hand away now Floyd. I am not Reid. You haven't drugged me into submission. You haven't degraded me to the point where I exist only to please you. So Floyd – no I don't fancy a shower. Get your things and leave."

Floyd's hand moved down Aaron's back. "You look lovely when you are angry. I can't leave without Spence and I have a feeling you wont be letting me take him along."

"Go."

Floyd's hands dropped to his sides. "You have no idea of what he has done do you? You have no comprehension of the pain he has caused me. I may – just may have over reacted a tad, but you don't know what he has done Aaron."

"Nothing that deserves that." Indicating a Spencer who had rolled over onto his side. "Nothing ever deserves what you did."

Floyd shouted – the phlegm hit Hotch in the face. His eyes seemed to burn with rage but still he just stood with his arms at his side. "He let them take her!" he shouted in Aaron's face. "He let them take my Rosa! You know how hard it was to get her back and Reid let them take her! He should have died before he let them do that. A half arsed scratch on his fucking arm! That is all my daughter is worth to him – nothing. She is a child Aaron. A little girl and he whimped out and let them take her. Do you KNOW what they are going to do with her? No you don't. I know. I have first hand experience of what they do. YOU know what they are like and he – Dr Spencer Reid let them take her. No wonder you kicked him out of the BAU. He is nothing. He is dirt. He is scum and filth, but he is mine."

Hotch took a step back and wiped his face. "He needs our help. Turn the shower on. I haven't the time or energy to play your mind games." Aaron turned his back on Floyd and returned to kneeling next to Spencer.

"Did you hear a word I said?" Floyd was talking in a low hiss.

Hotch gently undid the tie holding Reid's hair back. "I heard you Floyd. You are a compulsive liar. Give me time to work out the BS from the truth. Get the water running and don't for one minute think I am going to permit you to shower him."

"He is MINE!" Floyd was still standing with this back to the wall where Aaron had pushed him.

It felt good. It felt different and he liked it. He was hoping to annoy Hotch enough for him to strike him. At least then he would know he cared. He moved from the wall pushing himself away with the palms of his hands and moved to stand behind Aaron who was talking quietly to Spencer. He put a hand on Hotch's head and gently twisted the hair around his fingers. "I could take you now if I wanted. Right now. Across Spencer. Let him feel and hear your lust."

"I know you could. But you won't. You will go and turn the shower on." Aaron knew what Floyd was trying to get him to do and he wasn't going to comply to his twisted needs.

"Cant you just leave it for a while and look at me." Aaron could feel hot breath on the back of his neck, and he felt his skin crawl.

"It? – leave it?" He stood and turned to face Floyd.

"Spence then, my Spence. It, him, whatever you want to call it."

"This isn't going to work Floyd. I'm not sure what it is you want but I am not going to hit you. I'll do the shower, you pick him up and follow me."

Flanders just stared at this man who accepted everything he threw at him yesterday, the man who needed him so much not so long ago and now wouldn't even touch him. "You trust me with him?"

"Yes – yes I trust you with him. You don't have it in you to kill him outright. It will be the end of your game and I don't think you have another victim lined up yet. Not one who is going to cave into your desires anyway."

"He will. I just need to find that button."

The three of them walked to the bathroom. There was no sign of blood in the bathroom now. It was spotless. There was a strong smell of bleach though.

Floyd sat Reid on the floor and started to undo his shirt buttons. "Babes – I am going to give you a shower. It will feel good on your skin." He looked over at Hotch who was adjusting the temperature of the shower water. "Aaron – on the counter in the kitchen is some for of that sports drink."

Aaron stood and looked at the hands which where so spiteful now appear so gentle as he carefully removed Reid's clothing. There was nothing sleazy or unkind there. It was gentle and comforting. Hotch left at a run. He didn't want to leave Reid with Floyd but he also needed to get the drink and he didn't want to keep arguing with Floyd like two spatting lovers.

When he got back Floyd was carrying Reid into the shower. He stood in the doorway and watched with an envious twist tying it's self around in his stomach. Floyd stood with his back to the wall and slid slowly to the floor with Reid still in his arms. He had his legs crossed and Reid laying now over his lap. Hotch watched the hands washing the blood out of Reid's hair and allowing small amounts of water drip into his mouth. Aaron could see the blood and filth slowly washing off from Floyd's clothes. He put the drink down on the bathroom shelf and then again Aaron stepped out of the bathroom and walked to the bedroom where he picked out some fresh clothes for both men to put on. Considering the vast amount of weird and wonderful items of clothing Floyd owned Hotch thought he would change out of the stinking things he would wear for months at a time.

Floyd held onto Reid tightly. He kissed the top of his head. Why did he have to make him so angry? He rocked him gently back and forth and talked quietly to him. Why did everyone make him so angry? Floyd closed his eyes and just took in the comfort of having Reid on his lap. A hand on his face made him look down.

Spencer was smiling at him. "What happened?"

The voice from the doorway answered. "You were dehydrated Spencer. We are just fixing you up again." Hotch walked over towards the shower after dumping the fresh clothes in the hallway picking the drink up again on his way.

Reid put a hand out to him. "Join us."

"You are in the shower Spencer."

"I know. Join us. Please."

Floyd looked at Aaron and gave a small nod and so he handed the drink to Flanders.

Reid's eyesight was still not how it should be and the image he got was very blurred. Floyd wasn't wearing his glasses, but that was fine, he still enjoyed watching Hotch slowly strip down to his underwear. He watched him step under the water and walk so he was next to Floyd also with his back to the wall. He sat down next to him and pulled Reid's legs onto his lap. Floyd washed Reid's hair and face as Aaron massaged his legs and feet. They both heard Spencer's small contented sigh.

At first the arm around Floyd's shoulder made him want to pull away but the grip became tighter. "My terms remember." Hotch said quietly.

Aaron felt Floyd's body tense up and then relax and even lean on him slightly. One of Reid's hands was holding onto Floyd's hand as though if he let go he would die. His other torn hand was clutching hold of Aaron's hand in the same manner. Hotch felt one Floyd's other hand rest on his knee where he placed his own hand over the top and squeezed gently.

"You both need help. You know that don't you?"

No answers.

"I can move in. I can sell up and move in."

Reid grinned and Floyd spoke.

"About bleeding time."

* * *


	6. Chapter 6 The Little Scrubber

The Little Scrubber

_The fellow that agrees with everything you say is either a fool or he is getting ready to skin you: - __Kin Hubbard _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

**A/N: very very slight almost un-noticeable slash might be in this chapter if you look carefully and have a good imagination. **

* * *

The two of them sat and massaged and washed Reid until the water ran cold. Floyd helped him walk to the bed room and Hotch followed with a couple of towels in his hands.

For a while they sat in silence shivering with fluffy towels wrapped around their shoulders.

"I'm staying the night." Hotch said to no one in particular. "I need to go and get a change of clothes."

Floyd pushed Reid back so he was laying on the bed. "You can borrow something of mine."

"I don't think so Floyd, though thank you for the offer. You can leave Spencer to sleep and make up the spare room for me."

Aaron watched Reid curl up on his side and pull the blanket over himself.

"You trust me with him?" Floyd stood and started to walk towards Hotch. "And we don't need to make up the spare room – this bed is huge."

"My terms Floyd. My way or nothing. Up to you. If the room isn't ready when I get back, I turn around and go back to my place – with Spencer."

"If that's what you want. You won't be taking Spencer though." Again noses almost touching.

Hotch brought up a hand and touched Floyd on the lips gently. "You don't intimidate me anymore and one, I trust you – only because if you hit him again it will most likely kill him and I know you don't want to do that. You have shown that over again. So yes I trust that you won't be hurting him again tonight. Not with your fists anyway. Make up the bed for me. I won't be sharing your bed and I won't be eating anything you prepare." Pause. "I will bring sandwiches." Pause. "I have leave owing. I will arrange that and I will sort out the house. In the meantime I will be staying here merely as a protector for what small amount of Spencer there is left."

"Whatever Aaron." Floyd walked around to Reid and made sure that he was warming up. "Go then. I will sort out the spare room."

Aaron watched the sleeping form on the bed and then left. He really didn't think anything else would happen to Reid this day. For all Floyd was he did seem to know when he had gone too far.

He had been gone about ten minutes when someone knocked on Floyd's front door. He threw down the sheets he had in his hand and walked to the door. He thought it would be Aaron or one of the annoying neighbours. It wasn't. Floyd stood and stared.

"Can I come in?"

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to see Reid."

"He is sleeping. Go away."

"I really need to see him."

"He doesn't want you."

She shrugged. "I just want to see if he is alright. I miss him."

Floyd smiled a big toothy smile and nodded. "I can understand that. Come in."

She stepped into the dim house. It still smelt funny. A musty sort of smell of dirt and sweat. She pulled a face which didn't go un-noticed.

"This way." He led her through the kitchen to a door going out to where he had the extension built. "He is in the annex. Can I get you a coffee?"

She frowned at him and shook her head. "Why is he sleeping in the annex?"

"It's where his room is. Go ahead. I need a coffee even if you don't."

He watched her hand go the door handle. He watched those little white fingers turn the knob. He looked at her hair and then he looked at the way she collapsed into his arms. Her neck snapped. She wouldn't have felt it. Floyd drank from her and used her and then dragged her through the door she had been about to open and to his workshop. Floyd opened the big chest freezer and dumped the body in it. He closed and locked it and put a few items on the lid. He stood and smirked until he remembered the car which was probably standing in his driveway.

"Shit."

He was running out of time. Opening the freezer lid again and grabbing a serrated edged saw he began to cut. He knew all the best places and so it didn't take him too long. A short bit of hacking later and he was dragging a bloody headless and partially skinned lump out of the freezer and onto a sheet of plastic. Floyd dragged his bundle out of the house and pushed it onto the backseat of the woman's car and then drove to the rail crossing. He turned off the car lights and slowly drove onto the tracks. Floyd slid out of the drivers side and moved to the back pulling out his bundle. He pulled the door open wide and opened the window. Then carefully unwrapping her he stood her between the car and the door, pushing the door tightly against her and so wedging her into place. Next he pulled her shoulders forwards so she was draped outside the vehicle. Floyd smiled and kissed the back of what was left of her neck. "You really should have known better."

He stood there until he heard the train and then stepped right back out of the way. He wanted to make sure his idea worked. He had never tried this before.

It tried to stop. He could see the smoke rising from the rails as the train attempted not the hit the car sitting on the rails. Floyd watched it smack the side of the car and shunt it down the tracks out of sight. This time his smile was genuine. Now all he had to worry about was getting back home and hopefully before Hotch got back. Though he had a suspicion that Hotch would have been back long ago. Floyd had lost all sense of time.

He ran. He thought of Spence alone in the house and he ran faster. Then he thought of what was in his freezer and let out a 'whoop' and sped along at a speed he could have outrun any Olympic runner.

-o-o-o-

Aaron collected clothing and a few things to use until he could sort something else out. He packed some sandwiches he had in the fridge and then wandered around the cold empty house for a while. He would have asked Spencer and Floyd to come and live here, but he needed to get away from this old life and start over. He needed to be sure Floyd – Spencer – not Floyd – he needed to be sure that they would stay. That Floyd would stay.

Hotch sat on the sofa looking down at the few things he had packed. He had left his suits behind for now and just thrown casual things in his bag. Aaron had no idea if this was going to work. He just knew that he wanted to protect Spencer and Floyd – well that was interesting – and all the time he felt he could control Floyd he could see no reason why this arrangement wouldn't work. He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes trying to recall the old Reid. The one he was determined to get back…if not fully then enough for him to be recognisable as a person and not some battered animal which he had slowly become.

He ran his fingers through his hair. He would leave it like this for now and get it cropped back again before he goes back to work. He could feel the short rough hair where he had it shaved not too long ago after the stoning. He thought of that day again. He thought of how Spencer lied to cover Floyd and again he felt that tearing feeling inside. Then he thought of what Floyd had done to him continuously over the time they had known each other. He pressed the heel of this hand into his eyes and tried to work out what was going on here. He was planning on moving in with the man who tortured the boy he thought he loved, but now he wondered if it was something else. Spencer didn't make him feel the way Floyd did – then again – what was this Floyd was making him feel?

Aaron got up and reached out for the decanter of whiskey. Briefly he thought of having a drink, but he wanted to get back and make sure his trust in Floyd was deserved. Trust in Floyd? What the hell had he been thinking?

He grabbed his bags and ran to the car.

-o-o-o-

Aaron wasn't back yet.

Spencer was still sleeping.

There was blood everywhere.

Floyd got the mop and bucket and disinfectant and a scrubbing brush. He started by doing a basic blood clearance. He followed that up with a mopping. The kitchen floor looked clean, but the parquet floor could do with a going over. He wasn't sure if there was blood on the floor out there. He had to clear the table too. He went over the floor firstly with the mop and then stood back looking at it.

On his hand and knees with bleach and floor cleaner he scrubbed the kitchen floor. He scrubbed the cupboard doors. He cleaned the grout with a small handy little brush. OK Reid's tooth brush – but he did clean it again afterwards. The work surfaces were covered in cleaning fluid and scrubbed with a scourer. Slowly he made his way out to the hall way outside the kitchen door and continued with the brush and bleach and the bottle of cleaning fluid. It seemed the harder he scrubbed the worse the floor looked. Floyd let out small noises of frustration as he pressed harder and harder into the wooden floor. In places he scraped and scratched at the wood with his fingernails.

He wasn't sure how long the door had been hammered on when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Floyd?" It was Reid.

"Uh – Spencer go to bed."

"The door."

"Ah OK. You go back to bed. You don't look well."

"I don't feel too good. Someone nailed me to the dining table."

Floyd stood up and put a hand on the side of Reid's face. "What a bastard." A smirk. "You should be wearing protection over that eye. You still need surgery on that." A thumb ran over Spencer's lips.

"The door Floyd."

Floyd nodded. "I'm going." He looked puzzled at Reid's face. There was a bloody smear on the side of his face. He turned from Reid calling back over his shoulder. "Don't use the kitchen. I just cleaned it." But Spencer was already walking back to his bedroom.

-o-o-o-

He knocked. He knocked again. And again. He stood and waited. Floyd's car in the drive. No answer. Aaron was getting cross now. He was thinking about kicking the door down when Floyd finally answered the door. The porch light reflected off the man standing in the door way. The was blood splatter over his face. His hands were covered in blood which was still dripping. He was breathing heavily. There was blood soaking up his still damp clothing.

"What the hell have you done?!" Aaron didn't wait for an answer. He pushed Floyd to one side and started to walk towards where he had last seen Reid. Floyds yell from behind him forced him to stop.

"NO! not there. Don't walk there." Aaron stopped and looked at the floor under his feet and then started walking again. "Aaron – stop!" He stopped again and turned around.

"What have you done to Spencer?"

"Nothing. I have hardly touched him. Just don't walk there." Hotch dropped his bags to the floor and started to walk back again. He could smell the cleaning fluid and bleach.

"Floyd – what's going on?" He looked at the blood dripping off Floyd's fingers. "Show me your hands."

"Screw you Hotchner."

"Show me your hands."

"Why do you always think it's something I did? I thought you were going to trust me."

Hotch nodded. "I said it was on my terms. Show me your hands or I walk over your newly cleaned floor and then find where else you have been scrubbing and walk there too."

Floyd wiped the back of his hand over his mouth then held out his hands. They were raw and bleeding from the scrubbing and scratching and scraping he had been doing a couple of fingernails were bent back.

"Go and wash your hands and stop the bleeding. We are meant to be looking after Spencer. I don't have time for you."

Hotch went to the room he had left Reid in. He looked at Spencer laying curled up with his arms wrapped around himself and Aaron just wanted to go in there and comfort this damaged person. Not now though. Not until he had worked out what Floyd was up to. The cleaning sprees in the past seemed to follow on from something stressful. He walked over to Reid just to doubly make sure he was alright. He blinked and looked up at Hotch.

"Hi."

"Spencer – I didn't mean to wake you." Hotch pushed back a stray strand of hair laying over Spencer's forehead. "I was just making sure you were alright."

"I am tired – my hands hurt and my head aches." A small smile. "Nothing I can't cope with."

"I will be staying for a while. If you need me I will be in the house somewhere."

"Thank you Aaron." He closed his eyes again and was asleep again almost immediately.

"That's not the spare room." The voice was subdued and quiet. Something had happened when Hotch had been away, he just couldn't work out what it was. He frowned and turned to Floyd who was standing with toilet paper wrapped around his hands. The blood was soaking through the paper and staining it a bright red.

Hotch stepped out of the room and closed the door gently. "What happened?"

"When?" A surly expression crossed his blood splattered face.

"The blood. I don't believe it is all yours. Where has all this blood come from?"

Floyd scratched his ear and did half smile. "I had a nose bleed. I need to prepare some stuff. Are you OK to sort that room out? I kind of got distracted."

Hotch sorted the room and found the key. When he went to find Floyd he was standing in the kitchen. Blood had pooled on the work surface and was dripping off the edge onto the floor – falling in soft drips into the puddle. Flanders face was almost white. Aaron could see one of Floyd's hands holding tightly onto the edge of the counter – the other was at his side shaking. He was swaying slightly. Hotch walked in and stood behind Floyd. He put hands on his shoulders and squeezed gently.

"Let me help you. What do you need?"

No answer.

"Sit. Just sit on the floor."

A small nod. Hotch felt Floyd's weight suddenly against him. He slid down Aaron until he was sitting on the floor. His knees pulled up tightly to him and his arms holding tightly around them. It was a position he had seen Reid sitting in many times before. It showed Reid's insecurity. It was one of the times Aaron knew Reid needed to be held and comforted. Was this the same with Floyd? Did he also need comforting sometimes? He wasn't about to find out. Hotch stepped away from this strangeness and returned to his room. He locked the door and got ready to sleep. He set his watch and a small clock on the night stand and then lay back on the bed. Yes he could get used to staying here – he could protect Spencer and as for Floyd? Well he was going to have to wait and see.

-o-o-o-

Spencer felt Floyd lay down behind him and snuggle with him under the covers. He lay there thinking for a little while and then rolled over onto his back.

"Floyd – I've been thinking." A distracting hand was running over his chest. "I disgust you."

"Yes you do."

A tongue was torturing Reid's belly button making him squirm. "Well maybe if you didn't have to look at me. Would that be better?"

"I like to see what I am screwing and you don't like the dark. What is your idea?"

Reid put a hand on Floyd's shoulder and pushed gently. "Maybe if I was behind you for a change? Maybe if you didn't have to look at me."

Flanders smirked as he rolled over onto his front. "Do your worst Spence babes. I know I taught you well."

-o-o-o-

Floyd stood in the lounge smoking and smiling. That was the best time he had had in a while. Spence was learning well. He looked over at Hotch's bedroom door. Now for the next bit. Now he needed something from the house guest.

He dropped the glowing fag end on the floor and walked to the door Aaron was behind. Floyd put his hand on the door handle and twisted. The door was locked. He stood looking at the door for a while and wondered if he should just unlock it and go in but that was not what Hotch wanted. That was not playing to his terms. Floyd rested his forehead on the white painted door for a while and thought of Aaron on the other side. Keeping himself away. Taking control.

Floyd's expression changed from one of want to one of anger. He turned from the door and walked back to his bedroom.

He held a hand over Reid's mouth as he held him against the wall and pummelled his face. Paying particular care to get him in this bad eye.

"I told you to wear the patch. You will do what you are told. You won't disobey me again. Do you understand me Reid?"

But Spencer had blacked out long before Floyd's words reached his ears.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7 A Death in the Family

A Death in the Family

_Psychology depicts love as a cognitive and social phenomenon. __Psychologist__Robert Sternberg__ formulated a __triangular theory of love__ and argued that love has three different components: intimacy, commitment, and passion._

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

**A/N: WARNING. A CHARACTER DEATH IN THE CHAPTER BEFORE THIS ONE!! **

* * *

He slept on the floor for the rest of the night. He had no idea what he had done wrong. Once again the anger didn't seem to be directed at him. He was just the punch bag. Spencer curled up on the floor with his eyes squeezed shut and the blood drying around his nose.

Floyd lay on the bed staring at the canopy on the bed. He occasionally turned his head and looked at the huddled form on the floor laying unmoving where he had finally dropped him. He rubbed at his knuckles. He had split his skin on Reid's brow and jaw. He felt something – though he had no name for the thoughts going through his head. It was confusing. He wasn't sad. He didn't have regrets. It must have just been residual anger still bubbling at the back of his mind. He still didn't have Rosa back, but he thought that would be sorted soon.

He started to cough and choke as blood suddenly started to run down the back of this throat. Floyd rolled over onto his side and let it drain out onto the bedclothes. He knew these were getting worse and his normal way of stopping them didn't seem to be working anymore.

Aaron lay and listened to sounds coming from the other room and rolled over onto his front pulling his pillow over his head. The night seemed endless for Hotch who couldn't sleep knowing that Floyd and Reid were so close.

Floyd didn't sleep but lay in a puddle of blood and looked at the lump on the floor

Reid didn't sleep. He lay too afraid to move. Too tired to care anymore.

-o-o-o-

Hotch got a phone call in the early hours of the morning. His cell phone was buzzing. The call was from Rossi. He put the phone to his ear and rolled over onto his back.

"Hotchner." He listened for a while and then sat up. "Oh god." He listened for a bit longer. "Yes I understand I will come straight in." Another pause. "Yes yes I will make sure he is told." He closed the phone and put his hands to his face. He had to talk to Reid and then he needed to get into work and he only had casual clothes with him. He would take Reid with him.

Aaron got up and slipped on his bunny slippers then went to see if Reid and Floyd were up yet. The first thing that struck him was the over powering smell of bleach. He looked over at the bathroom door. There was an A4 bit of paper taped to the door. Aaron walked closer to see what it said. Big fancy cursive writing and very distinctively Floyds. 'Use this room aNd die.' Under this message in smaller writing. 'It took hours to clean so keep out.' Hotch smiled at the message. Floyd was off on one of his strange cleaning sprees again. He walked down towards the kitchen. Floyd was grinding herbs and weighing things out carefully.

"I need to talk to Reid. Is he still in the bedroom?"

Floyd looked over at him. Aaron was struck by how ill the man suddenly looked. His skin was almost pure white and his eyes stood out dark and deep. Floyd licked his lips. "He is in the bedroom." He then turned back to what he was doing. Hotch nodded and walked away. Floyd was in a strange mood and looked ill.

Aaron moved quickly to where Reid was. He didn't know how he was going to tell him his news. He tapped gently on the bedroom door. "It's Aaron..can I come in?"

No answer and so he turned the handle and opened the door. Reid was laying on the bed on his back staring at the canopy in a similar fashion Floyd had been earlier.

"Spencer." Aaron sat down on the bed next to him. He saw the patch Reid had over his eye and he saw the nasty scar still marring his pretty face. Then his eyes took in the swelling to the jaw and the crust of dried blood under his nose. His lip had been split too, but if that had bled also it had been cleaned up some how. "Spencer." How did he tell this person the news he had for him. Hotch didn't know where to start. He wanted to get up and knock Floyd's spiteful mouth into next year. Instead he stroked Spencer's forehead. "Something has happened. I need to talk to you about it. Then I need you to get dressed and come with me."

"What's wrong?"

-o-o-o-

The two of them walked quickly from the bedroom. Both looked as though they had been crying. Reid was putting his shoes on. His hair hung in ratty clumps over his face.

"Where are you going?" Floyd stood with a broom in his hand.

"I –I need t to go out."

"Where?"

Reid looked over at Aaron for the answer. "I need to take him into work."

"Why?"

"It's not your problem. This mess his face is in again is your problem though."

"No Aaron. That mess is your problem. You are going nowhere with him. I need him here." Actually he was glad they were going out. I would give him time to sort out the workshop and strip the head he had but that was beside the point. He didn't like Aaron taking his toy away from him like this.

"Reid get in the car." Hotch threw the keys to Spencer who caught them but just stood and watched. "Reid move it. Get in the car." Aaron wasn't in the mood to play Floyd's games today, and he wasn't going to tell him where they were going. He needed to get over this possessiveness if this was ever going to work.

Reid walked slowly to the door half expecting Floyd to land on his back and bite his throat out for disobeying. He knew he would pay for this later but he was going to walk out of that door. If his hands stopped shaking long enough for him to open the damned door. As he stood out into the sunshine he saw the children playing in the street and the couple across the way talking to someone else. It all looked so friendly and normal and for a few seconds he was envious of it, but he had never lived in this kind of world and really and honestly he didn't think he would ever cope with this sort of picture perfect environment.

The people over the road stopped talking and looked over at the tall thin guy who had been seen kissing another guy. They could see the nasty scar on his face and the patch over his eye and the way he had his hair down trying to disguise this disfigurement. He felt Aaron touch him on the shoulder.

"Are you alright…." He was probably going to say more, but someone grabbed him by the back of his Tshirt and dragged him away. Spencer turned around to see Floyd. The fist took Aaron in the face, and then Aaron's fist returned and cracked Floyd on the chin. Reid jumped in between them and tried to push them apart.

"Stop it!" but Floyd's elbow to the side of Reid's head sent him onto his back in the grass. He fell with a 'umph' and the noise was enough to distract Aaron long enough for Floyd to wrap his arm around Hotch's neck from the back. Aaron's heel in smacking back onto Floyd's shin and then the elbow into his solar plexus forced Flanders to let go. He stood back from Hotch and started shouting.

"He's not yours to take. Spence is mine!"

"He is his own person. He can choose. He's not your pet dog. You can't own a person Floyd."

"He is MINE! You are mine. He is mine." His voice was a low hiss.

Spencer looked around nervously at the neighbours standing staring. The skipping ropes had stopped being skipped with and hung from the kids hands. The women chatting on the other side of the street talked in quick quiet voices. Reid walked over to Aaron and Floyd again.

"We need to go Aaron. Floyd we will be back later, but we need to go and do something."

"I didn't ask for your mouth Spence. Get back in the house." Floyd's eyes swept over Reid then back to Aaron. "He's not going. Not until you ask."

"He doesn't need to ask. Aaron – I am going with you. Floyd we will be back later. This isn't a good time to try to stop me because I am going. You won't stop me."

"You will pay for this later Spencer. You will – and you know you will." Floyd turned and looked at the neighbours. "And what the fuck are you all looking at?" He shouted at them.

-o-o-o-

He went back into the house and slammed the door behind him. He raged and screamed and threw things around. He pulled Reid's books off the shelves and hurled them at the walls and the coffee machine ended up in a thousand parts on the kitchen wall and floor.

The rest of the day he spent in his workshop scalping and boiling a head. He had a good recipe he was going to try out on them later. His mind drifted to the sandwiches Hotch had brought with him and his refusal to eat that which he provided for him. Spencer wouldn't dare refuse normally. Would Hotch convince him not to eat?

Once the head was sorted and on a slow boil Floyd started to prepare the skin he had removed. It was pretty white skin. The hammering on the door distracted him from what he was doing. He stood still and listened. It continued. He threw down the skinning and preparing blades and went to answer the door.

As he opened the door the small gathering of Floyd's front porch recoiled as one. He stood and looked at the odd collection of people standing there. A few he recognised as neighbours – the others he assumed had been roped in from further down the street.

He sighed. "What?"

"We would like to talk to you about something. Are you friends here too?"

"You know they're not here."

"We would still like to talk to you. May we come in?"

A shake of the head. "No – you may not."

"OK we will talk here then."

"I don't have long. Be quick." Floyd didn't want the head to boil dry.

"We just feel that you should be showing a bit more decorum in front of the children. This is a nice neighbourhood and we don't appreciate your sorts coming here and dragging this down to the level of a trailer park."

Floyd nodded. "I understand exactly what you are saying, but you need to know that I don't give a toss what you think. I paid for this plot of land and thus it is mine and if I want to screw by lover on my porch I will and there is very little you or your little delegation can do to stop me. As for the trailer park comment – some of the finest people in this country live in such places and I fell you should be looking at yourself before you come here telling me how to live my life. Was there anything else?"

"You know what I am saying. We won't put up with it."

"Put up with what?"

"This smell for a start. Your property has a strange odour to it as do you sir. This is a nice place and we don't want your type frightening our children."

"I smell? You are here to tell me to take a bath?"

"I am here to tell you to stop this violence and – and – the touching other men on your front lawn."

Floyd scratched his ear. "Right. No kissing my lovers, no hitting them, and I need a bath…oh and de-fumigate my house. Anything else?"

"We had a meeting and we would like to see this place have a for sale sign on it by the end of the week."

"I intend staying. I have no intention of changing who I or my men are so just suck it up." He slammed the door and walked quickly back to his workshop. His hands were shaking with the effort of having to keep in control. As he passed the fridge he stopped and smiled. He opened up the door and removed two of the sandwich packs Aaron had put in there. He held it up to his face. "So Aaron Hotchner – you wont eat my food huh? Then I will have to arrange something else." He took the sandwiches out to his workshop.

-o-o-o-

It was late when Aaron and Spencer returned.

Spencer was the first through the door and he just stood and looked at the mess. Aaron pushed gently on his back and the both entered the dark stinking house. They both looked at the broken objects and the books laying on the floor where they had been thrown. Floyd was sitting on the couch with his arms crossed.

"Floyd?" Spencer walked slowly over to him. "What happened?" he knelt down on the floor in front of him.

Aaron announced that he needed a shower and walked off leaving the two of them together.

"You know what happened." He looked at Reid's hand on his knee and pushed it off. "Don't touch me. Go have a shower with Agent Aaron Hotchner. Go get your jollies somewhere else."

"I don't know what you are talking about." He ran his hand up the outside of Floyd's thigh. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong babes." Floyd reached down and stroked Reid's hair – pushing it off his face.

"What happened? What is all the mess about?"

"You disobeyed me. You went off with Aaron. I needed you here." He looked down at Reid's hands which were slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

"I'm here now." Spencer started to unbuckle Floyd's belt.

"You've been crying." Floyd's fingers ran over the exposed eye.

"Yes I have. A friend was killed in an accident."

"A BAU friend?"

Reid nodded and moved his hands to push his hair off his face and then returned to Floyd and started to undo the button on his waistband.

"Spence – what are you doing?"

He looked up into Floyd's questioning face. "You look like you need some comforting."

"Maybe – Spence." Floyd gripped hair on the back of Reid's head and leaned his head back. He was unsure of this new found Spencer - this one who was taking control and not just being the kicked dog. Finally maybe what he had said about needing some of the old Spence back had registered. It didn't mean he wasn't going to have to pay for what he did earlier. Reid still had to learn not to be defiant.

-o-o-o-

The three of them sat in the wrecked room surrounded by Floyd's mayhem with plates in front of them. Floyd had cooked and though earlier that day Hotch had made his feelings clear about Flanders cooking Reid still accepted the soup. Aaron had grabbed a sandwich out of the fridge.

"What is that smell Floyd?" Hotch finally asked.

He couldn't very well tell him the truth. "I've been preparing stuff in the workshop. Getting the leather ready…some of it I had to boil up to get it nice and soft. I will make you something. What would you like me to make you Aaron? A belt? A wallet? I will make you something. Spence? What about you? I saw you eyeing my belt earlier would you like me to make you one? Plain or silver studded?"

"No thank you Floyd." Aaron poked his sandwich around. It was tuna but had a funny taste. Maybe it had gone off. He nibbled at it anyway watching Floyd and Spencer devour the soup and wishing he had the trust in Floyd that Reid had that he would be eating next door's cat.

Reid looked at Floyd and did a bit toothy smile. "Thank you yes – that would be good."

"Oh one more thing." Floyd picked something from between his teeth. "Aaron; every time you piss me off I will take my anger out on someone you love. Spencer; every time you piss me off I will beat you unconscious. I just thought I needed to make that clear."

A soft splotting sound was all that as heard as something dripped from Spencer's spoon into this bowl of 'soup'.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8 School for the Slow Learners

School for the Slow Learners

_Neil Gaiman __once said: -_ _I've been making a list of the things they don't teach you at school. They don't teach you how to love somebody. They don't teach you how to be famous. They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer. They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind. They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying. They don't teach you anything worth knowing. _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

* * *

The evening was spent clearing up some of the mess Floyd had made. Reid was upset with what he had done to his books. In the past Floyd had never harmed his books. He knew what they meant to him and left them alone. He must have been riled to have done this. He wanted to sit down and talk to Floyd about where he had been and what had been going on, but he also wanted to keep it from him. To have it as his and Aaron's. A couple of the books bindings had been damaged. Reid felt like crying. Ancient books destroyed because of one mans inability to understand that he was a person and not a possession.

As he stood with the old volume in his hand a hand touched him on the shoulder. He turned to look at who he knew it would be.

"I will fix that for you." Floyd went to take the book from Reid's hand.

"No – no you won't." He moved away and placed the book on a shelf.

"Come on babes. Let me fix it." He was there breathing down the back of Spencer's neck again.

Spencer turned to face him. He looked pale and ill. His face was covered in small and large bruises. He still had a scab on his mouth from where his lip had been split. "You can't fix this Floyd. This is a long way past fixing."

"Let me try." Floyd's hand was resting gently on the side of Spencer's face which in turn pushed and moved against it.

"You can't fix it." He put a hand up to Floyd's face. "What's going on?"

Floyd's fingers slid behind Reid's neck. "What do you mean?"

"With you – Something is wrong. You might have forgotten but you know the old profiler brain sometimes just doesn't let go. What's going on? You are smoking less. I haven't seen you snort for a long time and your nose bleeds are horrendous. So something is wrong."

"I will be fine Spence."

Reid gave a small nod and touched Floyd's lip gently with his own. He pulled away and smiled. "You will be fine?" This time Spencer ran his tongue over Floyd's lips. "Let me help you." His hand was on the back of Floyd's head now and pulled him in for a deep lip crushing kiss. One hand on the back of Floyd's head and the other holding onto the back of Floyd's waistband. The action was mirrored by Floyd. He pushed Reid back against the bookshelves where they rattled and the books slid over onto their sides and any doubt Reid might have been having when he saw what Floyd had done was sucked from his body.

Hotch had gone to his room after dinner and was laying on his bed in his pyjama bottoms. His head was swimming with confusion and he really thought that the sandwich had been off. Maybe he would have been better off eating what Floyd had prepared. By the sounds of it, it had revitalised Reid some what. He sort of wanted to get up and join in the fun but too much movement made his head spin so he lay in this increasing fog and listened the crashing and banging and moans and cries of pleasure. Again Hotch pulled the pillow over his head. Only this time he lay there wondering how – after what they had been through today – Reid was able to do that.

Floyd and Spencer lay on the floor amongst the trashed belongings and smiled at each other. Reid sat astride Floyd and ran his long fingers over the pale flesh on Floyd's chest.

"You really don't look well." Drawing circles with his fingers around his navel.

"Uh hu. I will be OK.

"Will you tell me what's wrong?" Fingers walking up ribs.

"I'm just a bit run down. I really need to sort out something to snort. I will feel better then." He pulled his knees up and rolled over forcing Spencer off him.

Spencer knelt next to him and looked at the white scared skin of Floyd's back and way his hip bones stuck out. Spencer put a hand on the warm skin. "You have lost weight too. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Floyd rolled over again so he was facing Reid. "You want to help me?"

"Yes –I want to help you."

"Go to bed Spencer. There is nothing you can do that you haven't already and that is meant to be a compliment." He smiled and ran a finger down Spencer's scar. "I don't know what I would do without you but I need you to go to bed."

It wasn't worth arguing about. Spencer stood up and picked up the clothes scattered around the room. He picked up Floyd's too but handed them to him. The jeans were getting a bit stiff with the filth they were covered in. "Floyd – I think a change of clothing might be a good idea. Tomorrow."

A nod. "Pick me out something nice will you?"

Reid walked to the bed room and bunged his clothes in the dirty clothes hamper on the way through. He took a fresh pair of dark blue boxers out of his top drawer and slipped them on.

He lay down on the edge of the bed. It was a small problem, but one he had to work out what to do. Floyd had bled all over the sheets. They were still there crusted and soaked and Spencer had no intention of removing them and annoying Floyd by doing it. So he slept on the edge of the massive four poster bed.

-o-o-o-

Aaron lay with his eyes closed and the pillow over his head on his front. He wanted – needed to get up and lock the door but he was unable to move. He could move but every slight movement sent his head in such a spin that he just had to close his eyes again and lay down quickly. There was a nasty rushing sound in his ears and he could hear his heart thumping.

The sudden movement on the bed made him jump and in turn made his head spin even more. He guessed who it was. The man had just spent all that time with Spencer and now wanted more? There was something seriously wrong with this man. He felt a rough hand move over his brow and then a low almost whispered voice.

"How are you feeling? You don't look too good."

"You drugged me."

"No – well maybe a tiny bit. It won't hurt you." Floyd was leaning close and talking directly into Aaron's ear. "I just needed you to keep the door unlocked."

His lips were touching Hotch's ear.

"You could have asked. Actually you could have just unlocked it." He let out a small sigh.

"You would have refused my request and I can't unlock a door if I am meant to be following your rules of engagement."

"It has never stopped you before. Not with Reid." Aaron moved a hand up and placed it on Floyd's chest, pushing him away slightly. "What do you want? You didn't come on here just to see if poisoning my dinner worked so what is the point of this visit Floyd? I am tired – I am stressed and after today I am grieving. I don't have time to unwind your words and try to make sense of them. So just say what it is you want then go."

A big sigh. "I will leave then. Just don't lock your door on me Aaron. Spence never does and I don't expect you to either."

"You went to all the trouble of drugging me just to make a point about locking my door?"

"No." Floyd got up from the edge of the bed and ran a finger over Aaron's hand.

"Then what? Why are you here and not playing with Spencer?"

"'Tis complicated Aaron. You wouldn't understand. I have lost someone too you know. I too am grieving – but not a word for me. No one to say they are feeling the pain I feel. Nothing – just a void – or screwing. Sometimes something else is required to sooth the pains. I think you know what I mean. You too have lost a child to someone else. When did you last see Jack? My Rosa is gone again and no one has bothered to ask how I feel about it."

Aaron tried to sit up but the room was still spinning. "That might be because what happened to your daughter became over shadowed by you torturing Spencer. I am sorry your daughter is missing. I am sorry she is not here. She seemed to make you happy – but Floyd if you need comforting for your pains you are not going the right way about it. Sex is not comfort, friends are and you are not making any here. Why would we care about you or if you hurt – you don't care about us."

"I would have thought a great profiler like your self would be able to read me better than that." Floyd walked over to the window and looked out across the back garden through the crack in the curtain.

"You Floyd are virtually unreadable. You lie so much that it doesn't even show when you flip from one to the next. You are unpredictable and your mood swings are violent. I would put you down as Gideon once did – as a sociopath – but that was wrong, you're not. I don't know what you are Floyd but you are an original whatever it is. Psychopath – definitely – but it is that little extra twist you have that I cannot understand and it is that thing which intrigues me."

"My little twist. I like that." Floyd walked towards the door. "Sleep well Aaron." He left and closed the door quietly behind him.

Aaron lay for a while wondering what the hell that was all about. Floyd needing comforting? He didn't think he would be able to sleep. The horror of what had happened that day he thought would prevent it, but the drugs forced his eyes closed and let sleep come. A deep dreamless sleep.

-o-o-o-

Floyd went to the lounge and looked around at the mess. They had picked some of it up but it seemed he and Spencer had made it look like a tornado had hit it again. He pulled a small twist of cellophane out of his pocket. There was a grey powder held inside. Carefully made and measured. He walked to the bedroom and looked at Reid laying half on the bed with his arms and legs dangling over the side. He smiled at him and sat on the other side of the bed and then lay back – still holding his precious drug in his hand.

Laying back partly on the mess he had left the night before he rested his head on a pillow and stared up at the canopy. He had bought this bed with so many dreams and thoughts in his head and all had led to nothing. He looked over at Spencer again and sighed. The grey powder rested comfortably on the back of his thumb nail. He raised it to his face and breathed in the life saving powder.

He sung softly to himself for a short while. He watched the patterns on the canopy dance and smile down at him. He would have liked to have got up right then and swum with them in the rainbows, but he was welded to the bed. Something holding him in place. Something warm.

And so he let his mind float along without his body and he watched from where he lay on the blood drenched bed.

-o-o-o-

Spencer knew Floyd had entered the room. He lay very still. It was uncomfortable. Somehow more than half of him seemed to be hanging over the side of the bed. He felt him lay down on the bed and was expecting to be either pulled back onto the bed or to be pushed onto the floor, but Floyd didn't touch him. He heard a sound very familiar to him and turned slowly to look at Floyd. He was a million miles away somewhere inside his head. Spencer watched him snort his concoction up his nose and watched his eyes roll back into this head.

The strange whispered noise which came from Floyd's lips was in a peculiar alien sounding language yet it was melodic. He watched now was Floyd's eyes seemed to focus on things on the canopy bed. He moved closer and touched him carefully. There was no response and so he crawled closer forgetting the blood on the bed. He slid an arm under Floyd's back and another one over his chest. He rested his head on Floyd's shoulder and held him tightly.

Spencer wished Floyd could tell him what was going on. It was partly Rosa he knew that, but there was more than that. He just seemed so angry with everything. Yes he had always had this temper problem but now Spencer knew that soon this man he loved so much was going to kill him. He just hoped it would heal whatever wound Floyd had. He breathed in the special smell and held on tightly listening to the strange song.

-o-o-o-

Floyd was still laying drooling and muttering to himself when Reid awoke in the morning to the smell of coffee. He untangled himself from Floyd and went to track down the divine smell. He pulled open a draw to find something to wear and found a pair of dark brown jeans, a long sleeved checked shirt and a brown sweater vest. He then walked to where Floyd kept his things. A huge old wardrobe. From there he picked out a pair of weird black trousers with a button fly, a white shirt with deep cuffs and no collar and a deep red velvet waistcoat with golden buttons and finally a beautiful velvet collared frock coat. There was also a pair of suspenders and a length of black velvet ribbon. He placed the things over a chair and stood it in the middle of the room so Floyd couldn't miss it. He ran his fingers over his sweater vest and wondered why he loved to see Floyd dressed like this so much, yet had absolutely no desire to do it him self.

Now time to track down the coffee.

Aaron was in the kitchen with a mug in his hand. Spencer saw him check Reid over for fresh bruises.

"Sleep well?"

Reid nodded. "Yes I did." And smiled. "Coffee. Wonderful."

"He drugged me last night. Spencer I came here hoping I could protect you from him but I don't think it is working. I don't want to become one of his victims Spencer."

Reid bit on his bottom lip and poured coffee into his mug. He poured sugar straight from the container. "I am not a victim Aaron." He stirred the drink vigorously. "I am here with Floyd because I don't think I can imagine my life without him."

"Even though he is what he is?" Aaron had small frown lines on his brow.

"Even though he is what he is – you don't know all of what he is Aaron. You only see the bad things."

"Spencer - that is because there are only bad things. The only time he does anything nice is to get something from you."

Reid turned away from Hotch and started to walk from the kitchen. "You don't know him like I do."

Hotch followed. "I don't know if I want to."

"Then leave. Pack up your things and leave." He turned to face Aaron. "Do you think I want you here in my home? This is my place too you know. I don't know that I want you hanging around my partner. Exactly what is it you want? I've seen the way you look at him. I know your game Hotch. You lost your wife and now want to destroy what I have. You are jealous – suck it up Aaron. He is with me."

Aaron just stood and stared at the young man shouting at him. He had only ever seen him act out like this a few times before and that had been to do with drugs.

"Spencer – are you using again?" The thoughts turned into words before he could stop it.

He didn't get a reply but he saw the hurt in the exposed eye. He saw he had hit somewhere painful with his words and wanted desperately to take them back. Aaron reached out a hand to him, but Spencer turned and walked towards the front door.

He unlocked the door so he could go out and sit on the porch to drink his coffee and seriously think about what Aaron had just said to him. Reid swung the door open and saw something. He glanced down.

"Oh – Aaron – quickly get Floyd!"

* * *


	9. Chapter 9 The Whumping

The Whumping

_True love does not come by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly: - Jason Jordan_

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

* * *

Floyd sat on the porch and rocked the bundle in his arms. Her feet were bloodied and she was filthy but it was unmistakably Rosa.

Spencer tried to persuade him to bring her in the house. Lay her on the bed. He offered to get something to clean her with.

Aaron watched and understood something of what Floyd had said to him the night before. He went to the telephone and made a call.

Floyd stood up slowly holding his treasure close to his pale sickly looking body.

"Floyd – let me help – please." He completely blanked Spencer as he walked past him and towards the bathroom. "Please Floyd – I want to do something to help."

"Leave us alone. This is your fault Spence. Let me fix it."

Spencer stood looking down at his feet. Then he walked in a small circle. He felt Aaron's hand on his arm. "He didn't mean that Reid. He is upset. He doesn't deal with his emotions well. Give him time. He has Rosa back so things will settle with him again."

"I know. I am going to give him space." He picked keys up from the side table. "You can join me if you want." A hopeful look in the big hazel eyes.

Aaron pulled him close and held him tightly. "I am sorry Spence. I need to go and see Jack and I have things I need to go over with Rossi. Keep your cell with you. I will call you OK?"

Reid held on tightly for a minute or so and then they released each other. "I will leave him a note. I don't want to disturb what he is doing with Rosa." He pulled a hair tie out of his pocket and pulled his hair back. It made the damage on his face stand out a bit more but he wouldn't be able to drive with his hair flying over his face. "I have a hospital appointment. I need to go."

The two men left together. Aaron got in his car and Reid used Floyd's SUV.

The hospital visit was mostly uneventful. He had his dressing removed and they stared at the bruising around his eye and then they looked at the yellowing and greenish bruises on his cheek and jaw and at the split lip and the cut just above his eyebrow. They tried not to look at his hands and Reid was glad he had long sleeves on. He still had Floyd's stitches running up his inner arm.

"We did warn you that this eye had to be protected didn't we?"

"Yes." Fiddle fiddle with this hands.

"What happened to your face?"

"Someone hit me." Twisting the fingers.

"Someone hit you more than once. I hope you reported this."

He looked at the doctor. "It's not a problem. He apologised."

"I will have to delay your surgery. There is still too much damage there for me to even start considering it. You will have to be more careful or you will lose the sight in that eye."

"I will be more careful. How long will I need to wait?"

"I will send you a card in the post for another appointment Dr Reid. In the meantime wear this." A black eye patch was placed in Spencer's hand. "It will offer more protection and next time he hits you please ask him to avoid that eye."

Reid just nodded and sat up. The nurse helped him adjust the patch. "I feel pretty stupid you know."

The nurse smiled. _(Oh god I want to jump his bones)_ "You look fine."

Spencer did a strange half smile and left the hospital. He hated them so the longer he had to wait for surgery the better really and he would talk to Floyd about it. It was coming up to mid day now. He thought about maybe calling Floyd but he checked his phone and there were no missed calls so obviously he wasn't ready. He went and parked up in a spot near to a small diner and had a coffee and bought a donut. He sat at the back of the place with his back to the wall and the exit in good sight. The coffee was drunk quickly but the donut just had the sugar picked off the top and he thought about Floyd and Aaron and Aaron and Floyd and himself and Aaron and Floyd and the three of them and then of Rosa and where they all fit in around the child.

He got up leaving a tip and a picked at donut and returned to Floyd's vehicle. For a long while he just sat there trying to work out what to do next. He had an idea that Hotch would be going back to his own place after seeing Jack and anyway he didn't think it right to be a distraction from seeing his son. Hotch had a son. Floyd had a daughter and he had nothing. The only things he had were what Floyd permitted him to have and a child would never be one of those things. Spencer grinned to himself. Thank the gods!

Reid drove away and out of the town towards the forest road. He turned on the music and opened the windows. By early evening he was pulling into a motel car park.

He parked up Floyd's car under a light and walked to the reception area. He got and paid for a room.

It was simple but all he needed was somewhere to sit in silence and think and hide. He stood in front of the mirror and looked at the scar on his face. He removed the eye patch and looked at the way his eye just didn't look right. He couldn't figure out what was wrong but it sort of looked unfocused. He put the patch back and ran his fingers over the mark on his face. They said it would fade. He raised an eye brow. Fade to what though he wasn't sure. He turned on the hot water and watched it steam up the mirror and then wrote backwards. 'I'm sorry.'

It wasn't that late really but he was tired. He was fed up and he missed the people he loved. Again he thought of Aaron with the only thing he would die for and then to Floyd and Rosa and the same mirrored thoughts. He pulled off his sweater vest and lay on his stomach on the bed wishing he was that one thing someone would willingly die for. He was soon sleeping.

-o-o-o-

Aaron saw Jack. Haley's sister met them in the park and he spent a wonderful after noon with his beloved son. He watched the way the boy ran and played with a ball and wished with all his heart that things could have been different. They rolled on the grass and laughed and smiled and Aaron blew raspberries on his son's small podgy tummy. He lay on his back and played aeroplanes with him and he pushed him on the swing for what felt like hours. He was probably as exhausted as Jack was by the time he left the park with a promise to Jack's aunt to call soon.

Now the decision had to be made. Go back to the house with Floyd and Spence or spend a night alone in that house he hated so much. He knew though in him own house there was whiskey and music he could listen to and Floyd probably needed time with Rosa and so he went back to the house he still hadn't put on the market.

Hotch slumped and drank the alcohol and grieved. He cried for his dead colleague. He cried for what was left of Spencer. He cried for his lost marriage and he cried because he was a more than a bit drunk.

-o-o-o-

He held his daughter under the warm water of the shower.

"How did you get here?" He spoke softly into her long dark hair.

"I walked." She looked up at him and smiled.

"Why didn't you come in last night? Why sleep on the porch?" He kissed her on the nose.

"I heard you and Spencer. I didn't want to disturb you and then I guess I fell asleep."

He grinned. "There was no need. You are more important than he is. I can replace him...I can't replace you."

The rest of the day they spent on Floyd and Reid's bed. The entwined their limbs around each other and kissed gently and just stayed there and defied anyone to come and take this away from them. Floyd's nose bled and Rosa lay and snuggled.

-o-o-o-

They came in.

He was dreaming about some long forgotten thing from his childhood. Someone grabbed his hair and something was wound around his neck. Spencer made a gasping gagging sound as the garrotte tightened around his neck and a voice whispered in his ear.

"You are a very lucky man."

Reid was dragged backwards off the bed. He put his hands up to his neck as he felt the garrotte digging into his flesh. He tried to look around at who was doing this but they were staying out of his field of vision. Vision which was beginning to see black stars bursting over it. Whoever held him up right kept him close to his body. Someone was taking photographs – Reid could just make out the flash of a camera. Then more pain. Pain in the groin and pain in the face and it felt like something had punched him hard in the chest. As the stars started to join up and everything went dark the garrotte was released.

"Stay here. If he tries to get away don't waste time. Just finish the scum off." As the bleeding form lay on the floor the owner of the voice kicked him hard in the face. "You will wish I finished you the first time around."

-o-o-o-

They came in.

He was dreaming about his day in the park with Jack. Only in his dream Spencer, Floyd and Rosa were there too.

At first he thought the rope being put around his neck was part of his dream – but he soon woke up enough to realise that this was very real. They dragged him out of this lounge and into the hallway. One of them went up the stairs and looped the rope around the handrail and pulled. Aaron was swiftly lifted up off his feet. He put his hands to his neck and tried to pull it away whilst trying to get some grip on the stairs with his feet. He managed to get his feet on one of the stairs taking the pressure off his neck. He gasped and took in some much needed breaths as his brain screamed at him for oxygen. His respite didn't last long. He was pulled away from the stairs and then slammed against them again. His face took the full weight of the attack and as the rope tightened again around his neck he saw flashing lights. A camera? He thought as everything went dark.

They lowered him to the floor and left him gasping for breath. A few kicks to the head made sure he wouldn't awaken for a while.

"You stay with him. Restrain him. This one is strong. Don't engage with him. He is a manipulator with his words."

-o-o-o-

They came in.

They stood and looked at Rosa and Floyd. Father and daughter in a loving embrace.

"That creature is filth." A hushed voice. The owner of the voice placed a pile of photos on the floor in front of the bedroom door and a small printed note was left on the top.

-o-o-o-

He opened his eyes and saw darkness. He was breathing in small panicky breaths. Something warm was crushing his chest. Carefully he moved his hands to where he felt the thumping sensation and found the handle of a knife. His shaking fingers moved around it trying to calculate how big the blade was. Spencer knew he needed to get help and so rolled over onto his side to try to work out where his cell was and how to get to it.

"Where do you think you are going?" Spencer froze. He thought he was alone. "Move again and I will have to hurt you some more." He tried to get up onto his hands and knees to see who was here in the darkness. As he managed to get onto all fours a voice spoke to him again. "Dr Reid?" He looked over towards the voice in the darkness and got a boot in his face for his trouble. He made a small 'wurg' sort of noise and fell back onto his side. A hand grabbed him and lay him on his back again.

"Careful – we don't want him falling on that blade. Not yet."

-o-o-o-

He opened his eyes and saw the dusty skirting board in his hallway. Aaron went to put a hand to his face but found that his hands were restrained behind his back. He swung around and managed to get to his knees.

A voice from behind him let him know he wasn't alone. "Get back on your face scum." Hotch continued to try to get up off the floor and turn to look at who he was talking to.

"What do you want?"

He wasn't given a verbal answer – but the baseball bat across the side of the head sent him flying across the hallway and the other side of his head smashed against the corner of the doorway. The blood flowed down the side of his head as Aaron slid peacefully down to his wooden hall floor.

"Oh my – that made a nice sound. I hope he tries that one again." A collective giggle.

-o-o-o-

"Daddy?"

A child's voice in his ear awoke Floyd. "Sweetheart." He brushed his fingers over the girls face.

"Daddy. I can smell him!"

Floyd sat up and took a deep breath. His senses along with everything else it seemed was not as sharp as it used to be. He actually fell asleep that night but now he could smell Iolanda. He put a hand on Rosa's soft child's body and pushed her back onto the bed. "Stay here. Do not move. Not even if I call for you. Do not move until I come back personally to get you. Understand?"

"Yes daddy." She pulled the messed up covers up over her bare body.

He pulled a sheet up off the bed and wrapped it around himself a few times and cautiously walked towards the open door. Floyd looked down at the things placed on the floor.

Firstly he read the note. _'We will take what is yours if you do not return what is ours.'_

Then he looked at the pile of photographs.

The ones of Spencer showed him being garrotted. They showed a knife in his chest. They showed blood on his face and they showed blood around one of his eyes.

The ones of Aaron showed him hanging in his hallway by a rope around his neck. They showed him on the floor being kicked. They showed the smear of blood up the side of the stairs.

They fell from his fingers as he turned and looked at the child on his bed.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10 Brain Surgery

Brain Surgery

_Part of me is afraid to get close to people because I'm afraid that they're going to leave: - __Marilyn Manson_

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

* * *

He lay on the floor groaning softly.

He managed to roll over onto his back with difficulty. The hands tied behind his back felt numb and his arms ached from the position he had been laying in for an unknown time. Aaron could feel the blood drying on the side of his face making it feel stiff. The blood had run sideways across his face and puddled in his eye socket and welded it shut. He managed to get into a sitting position.

With the eye he could open he tried to see who his attackers were.

"What do you want?" He tried to keep his voice steady. "I have no money in the house. If you want……"

Again his words were cut short as someone yanked on his hair from behind. "Shut your mouth FBI."

"Can I have a drink? I need some water."

"I told you to shut up. One more word and we will order your little friend hurt."

Aaron tried to wipe off the blood from his eye on his shoulder. His little friend? Did they have Reid as well?

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

Aaron heard a small noise from behind him and then someone talking on the phone.

"He needs to know we are serious. Can we have some sound effects please while I put this on speaker."

Hotch listened. His face paling.

_No no please don't do that. A howl of pain._

_Now soft whimpering noises and the sound of someone or something being dragged._

_What? – What are you? – no – please – I didn't do anything wrong! _

_Why are you…………More howls of pain and the sound of hammering._

"Stop it!" Aaron hadn't wanted to antagonise them by talking again, but he couldn't just stay silent and listen to this.

"Are you going to stop talking now?"

_Screams of pain._

A nod from Aaron.

-o-o-o-

Reid was only slightly aware of what was going on but when he felt the hand on the knife still embedded in his chest he suddenly became fully awake. He tired to push the hand away.

"No no please don't do that." He felt the blade sliding out of his chest. The pain was not as bad as the horror of what this person had just done. He put a hand on the place the knife had just slid its way out of and cried out in shock as the blood began to well up between his fingers.

His hands were snatched away from where he was trying to stem the blood flow and he was being dragged across the carpet. They dragged him to the wall and pulled him around to a sitting position. Someone threw him a pillow and another took his right hand and placed it against the wall. Reid put the pillow against his chest and pressed hard. He looked up at the men with his big brown eyes. One of them bloodied and swollen. "What? – what are you?" He saw the knife being wiped clean on the UnSubs pants. "No please – I didn't do anything wrong!"

The knife point was placed on the scab left from where Floyd had impaled his hand and now he could see a hard backed bible. "Why are you………." Trying to engage them to befriend them – to understand them. They used the bible to hammer the knife through his hand and into the wall behind him. Again he cried out in pain. Not only in pain but in abject terror.

-o-o-o-

Floyd looked over at Rosa and then down at what he had dropped on the floor. "Get dressed. We need to leave."

"Where we going?"

"I don't know yet. We need to get out of the house." He paused and looked at Rosa's big eyes. "No no…forget that. Just get dressed. I will make a phone call. Move it…and don't touch anything."

Floyd pulled on the clothes Reid had left out for him and smiled at the odd collection he had chosen. The velvet ribbon he looked at for a while and then tied his hair back with it.

"Hurry sweetheart. I can't have you out of my sight." He watched his little daughter pull on the grubby dress she had arrived in. He really needed to go and get her some new things to wear. Once she was ready he passed her Reid's hair brush and half dragged her to the lounge. Laying on the floor near the front door was Spencer's sweater vest he had been wearing that morning and Hotch's bunny slippers. Both items were covered in blood. Floyd crouched on the floor and put his head in his hands. He rocked slowly back and forth.

"Daddy – don't – you're scaring me." Rosa stood next to her virtually immortal strong bastard murdering father and put a worried hand on his shoulder.

"It's OK Rosa love. I just need to think. I can't think straight." He could feel the wetness dripping out of his nose again.

He stood up again swaying slightly. He put his hands to his head and pressed the heel of his hands hard into his temples. "What do you need? I will get it for you."

"Sweety – yes – in the workshop. On the counter. An electric drill. Bring that for me sweetheart. I need to make a phone call. Quickly and be careful."

He took a few steps then fell to his knees. The blood was coming out in huge clots now – thick dark and slime filled lumps. He sneezed. Half crawling he made it to the phone and pulled the receiver down. He punched in a known number.

'_Morgan.'_

"Flanders. Quickly Morgan. They have Spencer and Aaron again. Come to the house." He hung up the phone just as Rosa came back with the drill.

"What do you want this for daddy?" She put it in his shaking hands.

"I need to fix something."

Floyd held the drill in one hand and used the wall to balance himself with the other. Rosa followed behind him.

"What are you going to do? Daddy what are you doing with the drill? Where are you going?"

"Just give me a while ok?" He stumbled into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. Rosa heard the door lock.

"Daddy! What are you doing? Let me in! Don't leave me out here on my own. Daddy let me in! Don't! I know what you are doing. Please daddy stop – daddy don't please don't do that!" She was screaming and hammering on the door when a sudden sound stopped her. Someone was at the front door.

"Flanders!" A voice was shouting.

-o-o-o-

Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi stood on the Flanders porch. Morgan knocked. No answer. No cars in the driveway. A dark house – it was the noise which made the hair stand up on the back of Rossi's neck. A child calling for her daddy.

"Flanders!" Rossi shouted out.

The shouting from the child was replaced by a short silence and then a howl.

"Daddy NO! Don't to that! Please daddy don't…"

It was all that was needed. The images of what that man Flanders was doing to the child shot through all their minds at once. Ultimately all coming up with the same one. They pulled weapons and Morgan pushed open the unlocked door.

"FBI!" Morgan shouted as he waved his gun around the room. Each of the agents stepped into the room. The bloodied items laying on the floor didn't go un- noticed and the noise coming from around the corner wasn't missed either. Again each of the agents moved to cover each other and to see what was going on around the corner of the lounge.

A child was standing at a door. Her head leaning on the door and her mouth muttering something. The sound of a drill could be heard from the other side of the door. Prentiss lowered her gun and walked quickly to Rosa.

"Hey Rosa. Remember me? Of course you do." She put a hand on Rosa's arm. "Can you tell me where you daddy is sweety?"

Rosa glanced over at the men and then to Prentiss and then to the bathroom door. "He's in there."

"Did he hurt you?" Rossi's question.

"No – but he wont come out. Kick the door in and make him come out."

Morgan moved to the door and looked down at the girl. He could hear the drilling sounds and moans of pain. "What is he doing?"

"Drilling his head I think."

"Drilling his?"

"His head- to stop the headaches – please stop him." She then looked down the passage to the bedroom door. "Someone came in last night and left those pictures. Daddy did a mental and then started drilling his head. Please stop him."

Rossi went to look at the pictures which had been dropped whilst Morgan put his shoulder to the door. It popped open easily enough. At first it looked like Floyd was kneeling on the floor in front on the toilet being sick but the spray of blood up the wall and the puddle forming around his knees sort of gave out a different reason he was kneeling there. The drill was still clutched in his hand and Morgan could see the slow rise and fall of Floyd's back as he was breathing.

"Floyd man, what the hell?" He walked slowly towards him. not wanting to alarm a serial killing cannibal with a drill in this hand. "Floyd!"

"Oh god." Prentiss' voice from behind him. "Come on sweets; let me take you out side." Quietly to the small girl gripping her hand so tightly that the little finger nails were breaking the skin.

Morgan gently touched Floyd on the back. "Floyd – I'm going to move you OK?"

He thought maybe there was a small noise as a response but wasn't sure. He turned to look at the child standing in the door way. Emily was still trying to get her to move and then turned back to Floyd and pulled him away from the toilet bowl and onto the floor of the otherwise sparkly white bathroom. He fell sideways with a soft moan. Morgan rolled him over onto his back and saw the hole drilled just below his hairline above his right eye. "Sonofabitch."

"He needs to be on his side." Rosa was pulling away from Emily to get into the room. "It needs to drain now."

Rossi was standing at the doorway again looking in at the scene. He wasn't as familiar with this Floyd business as the rest of them. He turned to Emily. "You seem to get on with him alright. Morgan we have something else we need to go and look at. Now. Emily stay here. Is an ambulance going to be needed?" He looked at Morgan.

"No sir no. This is so far beyond that - I don't know what to think. People don't dill holes in their heads. This is just not right." He got up and changed places with Emily. "Be careful and keep that kid close."

-o-o-o-

A noise brought Aaron's attention back to the UnSubs. Someone was talking on a phone. It was a quick call. Followed by a reminder to keep his mouth shut.

"We are taking you to your little friend. The rules don't change. You keep your mouth shut or your friend will be in a whole new dimension of pain."

They dragged Aaron to his feet and directed him out of the door which led ultimately out to the garage. His head hurt from the crack he had taken around his head but he wasn't going to let these people know the pain it had caused. He would have found it much easier to walk in a straight line if he had something to help him balance but again he refused to show them a weakness. The hold they had over him via Spencer was more then enough. Nagging at the back of his mind again was the incident with the stoning. Would Reid do the same sort of thing again? Would he be able to watch Reid being tortured to save someone else? If that was what all this was about. He knew this was Iolanda again. He knew that this was about Floyd and Rosa again. What he didn't know was where Reid's loyalty lay.

-o-o-o-

Spencer was sitting curled up as tightly as he could on the floor. His hand still stuck to the wall, the pillow held tightly in front of him and his knees pulled up close. The room was in virtual darkness, but somehow now this was almost comforting to him. He knew the monsters where there and he knew they were going to let him sit here and bleed out. He would rather not have to look at their faces as it happened. When the door to the room opened and a shaft of light spread over the carpet he looked up to see who had arrived. He was expecting Iolanda. It was a look of shame though which Reid gave to the new arrival. He knew that the reason Hotch was here and beaten and bleeding was partly his fault.

Aaron gave him hardly a glance as he stumbled into the room but that glance was all Hotch needed to have to know that these people had no intention of letting Reid go, and thus probably no intention of letting him go either.

"Hotch – I – I….."

"Dr Reid." A voice out of the shadows. "Unless you want your head nailed to the wall with a round from my pistol you will shut your mouth."

Spencer looked over into the shadows towards the voice and then over to Aaron who was being forced down onto his knees facing the wall opposite him.

"I don't know what you want from us, but doing this will get you nothing. We won't give you what you want." Spencer could see movement from the shadows and the glint from a weapon. "Torturing me will not force me to tell you what you want to hear. You have already killed me by pulling that knife out of my chest. Your threats don't scare me anymore. I won't be your leverage. You can threaten me all…………."

Hotch was listening to Reid's words and was about to tell him to shut up when the gunshot rang out cutting off Reid's words. He turned slowly to see what had happened. They let him look at Reid slowly slide sideways. The weight of his body pulling on the hand stuck in the wall – ripping through the flesh as he slumped into a heap leaving a big red smear on the wall behind him. Hotch's first thought was. _'That was not a head shot – there is still hope' _He closed his eyes against the scene and looked back at the wall again. Making a fuss now wasn't going to help either of them. However there was no reason not to talk now.

"Let me go to him." He tried not to let the pain show in his voice but he really needed to get to Reid as soon as he could. Someone took off the restraints on his wrists and then pulled him to his feet.

"Go on then. Let's have a floor show."

Aaron chose to ignore the vile comment and walked on wobbly legs to where Reid was laying. He collapsed into a kneeling position and carefully touched the side of his neck. There was a weak pulse. As he rolled Spencer over onto his back he could see that the bullet had taken him in the shoulder. He touched the wound carefully with shaking fingers. "Spencer – it's going to be alright. Just stay with us OK? Open your eyes for me Spencer." He looked down at the pillow he had been clutching to his chest and moved it away to inspect the damage underneath. The front of his shirt was soaked but it looked as though the bleeding had stopped. For now.

-o-o-o-

Rossi knew that the photos of Aaron had been taken in his home. They rushed a team of people over there but they had left already. The mess which had been left behind though was not good. There seemed to be blood smeared everywhere. Up the walls, up the side of the stairs, and on the corner of the door there was black hair stuck in place by blood. There was no Aaron though.

"Somebody must have seen something. Knock on doors. Start asking questions. We need a CSU down here now."

Morgan wanted to kick things and shout but he held tightly onto the stress ball Garcia had given him and held back the cries of frustration.

-o-o-o-

Emily sat on the floor next to Floyd. There was something strangely compelling about this man. She watched the blood dripping from the hole in his skull and wondered how many men were capable of doing such a thing and surviving. Rosa sat on the edge of the bath watching.

"Do you like my daddy?" She suddenly asked.

Emily realised that she had her hand resting on Floyds arm. "Yes - Rosa I think I do." Though she had no idea why.

"It's not real. Those feelings – they aren't real." She got down off the side of the bath and sat next to her dad. "It's – erm – survival tactics. Make someone like you so they won't hurt you. It's what Iolanda did to me. I thought I liked him. I thought I hated daddy but it was false."

"I see but I won't hurt your daddy Rosa. He is already hurting enough."

"You're not real cross with him for all of this?"

"No – I don't understand it but that doesn't mean I will dislike someone for it."

They sat in a small huddle on the bathroom floor. Emily was hoping Floyd would not wake up properly until someone else came back. She seemed to only like him when he was incapacitated. It didn't stop her kissing the tips of her fingers and placing them on Floyd's cheek though.

"Well well if it isn't the bitches in heat." Emily's hand went for her gun. Rosa leapt away and threw her self into the bath tub.

The sound of gunfire echoed around the small white tiled room.

* * *

**A/N Thank you all readers and reviewers. **

* * *


	11. Chapter 11 The Good Life Continues

The Good Life Continues

The Good Life Continues.

_To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead: - __Bertrand Russell _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

* * *

"That's enough. Away from him now."

Aaron didn't move. "Spencer, can you hear me. Let me know you are still there." He took hold of the hand which hadn't been ripped and squeezed it hoping for a response back, but he got nothing.

"I told you to get away from him."

Still Aaron didn't move. With his finger tips he gently began to wipe the blood away from Reid's eye. "It's going to be alright Spencer. Just stay with me."

This time there was a response, only it was from the captors not from Reid. An arm was wrapped around Hotch's neck and was jerked back away from him. He kept hold of Spencer's hand as long as he could but the limp fingers eventually were torn from his grasp as they pulled him back to the other side of the room. Once Hotch lost physical contact with Reid he put his hands up to the arm choking him and tried to loosen the grip slightly. It didn't last long though. The motel room was small and he was soon back at the wall forced to his knees facing the pale green paint.

"What do you want from me?"

"I think you can probably guess the answer to that one and didn't we tell you to shut your mouth? Didn't we say we would hurt your little friend if you spoke?"

Hotch heard the sickening sound of boot against flesh and leaned forward resting his head on the wall. He could feel tears of anger and pain for his friend prickling behind his eyes. He needed to pull himself together now. He needed to ignore what they were doing to Spencer and concentrate on what was going on. They hadn't brought him here just so he could hear them beating Spencer. They hadn't brought him hear just so he could hear Spencer's last breaths. What the hell were they after? This had to have something to do with Floyd and Rosa. He just hoped that this wasn't all for nothing and that Floyd was keeping that child safe.

-o-o-o-

Spencer watched with bleary eyes as Hotch was brought into the room. He watched as the man who was so strong and always there for him was pushed against the wall and made to kneel. He needed to free Aaron from this. He needed Hotch to be free to do what he needed and not have to worry about him. Other peoples lives were at stake because of him. He couldn't think exactly what it was he had done but it must have been something to be here now. Nailed by his hand again, only this time to a wall. He knew he had lost too much blood. He could feel the warm stickiness against his skin. He could tell that his eye was most likely damaged beyond repair now and he could feel the terrible guilt of whatever it was he had done.

He thought back to the stoning and how he had watched Hotch get hurt to give Floyd a chance to get away. Now was his chance to make it right.

Spencer started talking. He heard them tell him to be quiet. He saw the glint of the gun. He heard their threats which weren't real anymore. The pain firstly in his shoulder stopped his immediate diatribe and then as he felt him self fall sideways unable to hold him self up in a sitting position anymore he felt the knife being ripped through his hand. Thankfully that was when everything stopped. Almost. He could feel the pain. He could hear the voices and he could feel his blood draining from the wounds, but as Aaron held his hand and touched his face he couldn't force his battered dying body to respond to him. He felt Aaron being ripped away from his hand and wanted to scream for him to come back and not leave him in this new found darkness but he just lay and stared again at the shadows he had been living in for so long now.

-o-o-o-

The first round hit the man in the doorway in the chest. He fell with no complaint.

The second shot slid its path across Emily's left arm causing nothing but a graze.

The third hit Floyd central in the upper chest.

The fourth hit Floyd again this time in the side of his face just in front of his left ear.

The fifth hit the second man in the neck. His hand went to the hole and he fell sideways against the door and slipped twitching to the white and blood red tiles.

The sixth hit Emily in the side, but again only a graze

The seventh hit Emily in the left arm again – this time getting a proper blood splattering hit. She screamed in pain and fired again.

The eight hit the final man in the forehead. He fell where he stood.

All the time there was a blood curdling scream coming from the small child hiding in the bath tub.

"Rosa – are you hurt?" Her words coming out in gasps of pain.

"No." a small terrified voice. "I peed myself."

Emily turned to Floyd and looked at the fresh blood oozing from his chest and face.

"Stay where you are." Emily crawled forwards and removed the weapons from the dead UnSubs. She then pulled her cell phone from her belt and speed dialled Rossi. She tried to tell him to get back to the house – that she had been shot and that Floyd had probably been killed – all the time in the back ground were the wails of distress coming from ten year old Rosa.

"Daddy! Wake up daddy! Don't go to sleep now. You need to stay awake. Make yourself better daddy!"

Again Rossi was taken back to his nightmares. He promised to send people over there now. He told her to stay where she was. He said he was on his way.

Emily turned back to Rosa. She grabbed a towel and held it tightly over the wound in her leg. Rosa was sitting astride Floyd – her head resting on his chest and screaming in the pain of what she was seeing.

Prentiss crawled closer to them. "Rosa – please leave him. Get back in the tub. It will protect you from the bad guys if they come back."

"They won't hurt me. All of this is cos of me." She sat up and looked at her dad's face and chest. "He will get better though. He can do that. He can make him self better."

"I know darling but for now I need you to get back in the tub. Let me see if I can help him OK. Just jump down off him."

Rosa slid off but didn't get back into the tub. Emily put her head to Floyd's chest and could hear the faint unsteady thumping of his heart.

"Rosa honey. Grab me some towels will you. I will see if I can stop the bleeding here." Emily looked at the hole in the side of Floyd's head and at the blood spray covering his face and the side of the bath tub. She took the towels from Rosa and pressed one to his chest and the other to his face. She didn't want to move him to see the mess which might be behind his head. Not with a child in the room and she doubted that moving him would make a whole lot of difference except for bleeding to death on a bed was a bit more dignified than dying next to a toilet. She decided to wait for Rossi and Morgan to arrive.

Her stomach curled with fear when she first heard the sound of the front door slamming open. But then the familiar noise of SWAT made her call out. "In the bathroom!"

-o-o-o-

"Well it looks like he needs more persuading." Aaron tried to turn around to see what the man was talking about. He could see in the darkness of the room more camera flashes. He could hear something being dragged and could only assume it was Spencer they were moving. Hotch had no idea now it Reid was alive or not. He hoped that Reid's strength – the one so often overlooked had stepped up to the line and kept him going. Spencer wasn't one to give up. He had been a fighter all his life. Being mostly dead wouldn't – Aaron hoped – change that.

Again he tried to turn to see what they were doing to him.

"Keep still scum."

"I need to…….."

Something hard hit Hotch in the side. He felt ribs give way under the pressure. With a moan of pain he fell sideways still facing the wall unable to see what they were doing to the man he was meant to be protecting. He saw the flash of the camera. This time close to him. This time the pictures were of him.

"What are you doing to …………" a kick to the head forcing his forehead into the skirting board and splitting the skin in a line above his left eye.

"Shut up bitch."

They turned him over to take pictures of the damage. This gave him the chance to look over to see what they were doing to Spencer, but all that was left was a puddle of blood on the floor and a smear of blood on the wall.

"Where is……………" a boot under his chin made his teeth clamp together biting his tongue and drawing blood. He spat out blood and stared over at the empty space where Spencer had been laying. He needed to stay awake. If he kept trying to ask questions they would stop him and then he wouldn't even be able to hear the sounds he could hear coming from somewhere out of his line of sight.

-o-o-o-

In his new found darkness he saw flashing lights and from somewhere else he could feel he was being moved. The pain in his shoulder as they dragged him by his arms threatened to take him further away into the darkness and let it all end quietly, but he managed to pull back from that pain and concentrate on something. Periodic table of elements was what he used today. Vaguely he felt the flooring underneath him change as he was dragged from carpet and onto tiles. Still in his jeans which had a nice bloody front to them now where the blood from his chest had pooled and his shirt – he felt himself being lifted. Spencer managed to flail weakly with his good hand at whatever it was making this happen but he stopped abruptly as he was dropped into the empty tub face up.

Again he saw the flashes of the camera through the darkness and now the sound of water and the sensation of water slowly soaking up into his jeans and around his shoulders.

-o-o-o-

Rossi and Morgan were back at the house. Prentiss had been taken to the hospital. The problem now was what to do with Floyd and Rosa. Morgan had made it clear that hospital for Floyd was pointless and somewhat dangerous.

"He will only attack the staff. It really isn't worth the stress. He resists any attempts to help him in that way."

"We can't leave him on the bathroom floor. Morgan can you carry him to his room?"

Touching Floyd was not something Morgan felt much like doing right now and he would quite happily have left him where he was. If he hadn't messed about with the drill then Prentiss wouldn't have been here and wouldn't have been shot by the sonsofbitches laying in their little puddles of blood in the doorway but there was a child involved. Even though the child was a genetic Flanders spawn she was still a child and so he did a reluctant nod and bent down to pick up the thing on the floor.

Rosa decided that clinging hold of Rossi's leg was the thing to do and for now Rossi wasn't going to complain too much about it. She was scared and those big dark eyes were enough to make any person forgive and forget anything she may have done. Right there – right now – Dave Rossi would have died for this little thing clinging to his leg.

Morgan had just rested Floyd on his side on the bed when one of the officers left to keep the building secure entered the room. Morgan had replaced the bloody towel on Floyd's head with another. There didn't seem to be an exit wound. There was however a hole in his back where the chest had a through and through. Rosa had let go of Rossi and was laying behind her dad holding on tightly. For a minute Morgan thought the scene looked heartbreaking until he remembered who it was.

The officer handed an envelope to Rossi. "A local child came to the door with it. Said someone in a dark town car stopped and gave him a dollar to deliver it to this address."

Dave nodded and took it from him. "Thanks."

He took out the photographs first.

Aaron kneeling facing a wall. Aaron laying bloodied his eyes looking at something they couldn't see. The blood running down his face and in his eye. His hair stiff and encrusted. His hands in fists. Aaron curled up around his pain but still with his eyes open defying the attackers. The marks from the rope could clearly be seen around his neck and now one hand reaching out for something.

Spencer laying bloodied in a heap on the floor. Blood up the walls both in a spray pattern and in smears. Pictures of him laying face up in a bath tub water about four inches deep around his blood soaked body. The water around him in each of the pictures slowly turning a slightly deeper pink as his blood diluted with the bath water.

Rossi passed the pictures to Morgan.

"The cars are missing. Get Penelope onto that if you haven't already. I want to know where Floyd's car is."

"Already done that. So far no sign of it. We have no idea where he went in it and there is no way of tracking it. Flanders made sure of that."

Both men looked over at the two people on the bed.

"And there is something slightly wrong about that too." Morgan indicated the bed. "We can't leave them here and we can't stay here with them."

Rossi nodded. "Get them to a safe house. We need to work out where they are holding them. Where would Reid have gone? You know him better than me. Think about it. I will sort out somewhere to put these two for now."

Dave walked away slightly to make phone calls to who he needed to get these two somewhere safe. Morgan stood leaning against the wall looking at them and wondering where the hell Spencer would have gone.

'_Probably a motel. The pictures looked like the place wasn't too expensive. The walls painted pale green and the carpet looked old. There was a chip on the bath tub and it was not a new looking thing. So somewhere averagely maintained but not expensive. In the past Reid had tended to take the forest roads'_. He pulled out his phone and made a call to Garcia.

-o-o-o-

Hotch heard the smack of something falling into the bathtub and then the sound of running water. _'Oh god they are going to drown him. I have to stop them. I have to do something.'_

"You realise if you kill him there will be no reason for Floyd to do what you want. This is what this is all about isn't it?"

"You just don't know when to shut up do you?"

Hotchner watched the man pick the baseball bat up off the floor and then begin to walk towards where they had taken Reid. "Time to finish this one off I think."

Aaron started to crawl forwards. "No – no!" A foot on the small of his back pushed him back down to the floor. "You are making a big mistake. If you want to use Reid as leverage he is no use to you dead."

"Do you really think I am going to listen to what you have to say? You are trained to manipulate with your words. It is your job. What is your great need to keep this one alive though? Is this a three way thing you have going here? Interesting. I didn't see Reid trying to save you when we had you both before – yet you are willing to die for that pathetic bit of filth?" The man stood swinging the bat back and forth. Aaron could see his hair and blood stuck to it still. "I really do think that Floyd needs to know we are _deadly _serious about our demands. We will have Rosa back and we will destroy everything Floyd has ever been close to and I think that includes you Hotchner – but you see I don't have to physically destroy you – I think we only need do that to the scum pervert doctor. That will be more than enough to destroy you. What do you think?"

Hotch just stared at the man with the bat.

"Nothing to say?" He turned and started to walk away again.

"You will need him later. Floyd won't trade his daughter – not even for Reid. You are wasting your time."

"Then my time is wasted. As I said – now I just want to take from him everything he needs. I want to take from him anything and everything he holds close. You are included in that list Hotchner. But I want you to hear Reid die first. I wont give you the pleasure of seeing it. I want you to imagine the look on his face. The look of betrayal. The look you gave him. I want him to die alone and unloved and forgotten. That sounds good to me."

Again Aaron tried to crawl forwards. "He won't feel like that. He knows how I feel. He knows…." He was cut off as the man with the bat spun on him again.

"I've had enough of you." The bat swung and caught Aaron on the side of the face. He heard his jaw crack and felt his teeth loosen. He fell sideways onto the floor his head spinning out of control, but unfortunately still able to hear.

And what he heard made him want to scream.

* * *


	12. Chapter 12 Lunch and Leverage

Lunch and Leverage

_It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?: - Winnie the Pooh _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine

**A/N: This chapter was written under the influence of far too many pain killers. Sorry.**

* * *

"Wake him up. I want him to die knowing about it."

They grabbed Reid by the collar of his shirt and pulled his head and shoulders up out of the murky water. A slap around the face fed back no results. He was dropped back into the filthy bloodied water and turned over face down.

Spencer knew they were moving him but was disorientated. He couldn't remember where he was anymore – or why he was there. He just knew deep down that he had done something to deserve what was happening. This was payback for all he had done. This was because he watched Aaron in pain and lied and let it continue.

He felt them pull him out of the water and he felt the hand around the face but he couldn't respond to it. He wanted to. He wanted to scream and shout and make them stop but all he could do was stare into the dim light of the room and listen to the voices.

As they dropped him back into the water his head caught the edge of the bath and put stars in the darkness for him for the shortest of whiles. He felt them turn him over and push his face down into the cold water he had been laying in.

It was now that his body allowed him to react. He pulled his head up out of the water and placed his hands on the edge of the bath. He kicked with his feet trying to gain some kind of grip and get him self to kneel and he begged them to stop. In his confused mind this was Aaron. This was payback for what he had done.

"I'm s s sorry."

The words drifted out to Hotch who was laying on the carpet in the next room.

"I'm sorry Aaron. Please don't d d do this."

Hotch wanted to shout back but all he could do was lay and listen. Again the tears of anger welling up behind his dark eyes. He could hear Reid's cries of pain and he could hear wood on flesh. He listened to Reid begging him to stop and the sound of him struggling against the water.

Spencer felt him self being turned over again. Nothing really hurt anymore. All he could feel was something connecting with his face and his jaw feeling wrong. He begged Aaron to stop again. He asked him to let him explain. He spat out blood and teeth as something hard hit him again across the mouth and then the smashing sensation as it caught the top of his head.

Reid's moans and whimpers and cries stopped. He lay in the bath of gradually darkening water and stared upwards. For a while his hands and legs twitched. He blinked once.

-o-o-o-

Hotch lay and cried. He bit on his bottom lip until it bled. He wanted to get up and shout out to Spencer that it was alright, that it wasn't him doing this to him, but all he could do was lay and listen to Spencer beg him to stop. He could hear his voice becoming muffled and slurred. He could hear the sound of something making contact with him and the he heard the silence. The click of the light being turned off. The sound of the door being closed and now he could see the man with the bat returning.

"Get him sitting up and awake. I need him to listen to what we have to say."

They pulled him up by the back of his shirt and dragged him to the wall. Aaron stared passed the abductors to what was left of Reid on the other side of the room. He felt hot angry tears begin to creep out and walk slowly down his bloodied face.

"Can you hear me Hotchner?"

He nodded slowly.

"Good good. You are going to do what we say."

Aaron licked his lips. "You lost your leverage." His voice was shaky and quiet, but loud enough for them to hear him.

"No we haven't. You just can't see the full picture yet. I am going to make a call and you are going to talk to someone. You will tell that someone to bring the child here. If you don't do what we tell you to do you will learn the true meaning of horror. Do you understand me?"

"As I said – you killed your leverage. Floyd doesn't care what happens to me. I'm not the one he wants. I'm not the one he would give his life for. You just eliminated that person." His voice was gaining some of its strength again now.

"And as I said – you can't see the full picture yet. When you can you will understand."

He turned to one of this hench men and pointed to a large work box and bag on the floor. "Take those and start preparing it. Strip it down and bring its things out here. I have use for them."

The man picked the things up off the floor and started to walk.

"Wait. Wait – what are you doing?" Hotch's stomach began to turn over with the million sick thoughts going through his head.

"Leverage Hotchner." He turned to the man with the box. "Get to it. This agent here needs to know how serious we are about this. Strip it and bring its things out here." The man nodded.

Aaron heard the bathroom door open and the click of the light switch being pulled and then the door being closed again.

-o-o-o-

The safe house was in fact an apartment. Floyd was awake but not quite with it as they helped him down the passage way towards room 1408. He tried to walk. He didn't like to show a weakness but his legs kept being very disagreeable and collapsing under him. He could faintly hear Rosa talking to him in a worried little girl's voice. He could hear encouragement from Morgan and Rossi. This wasn't the time or place to admit to Agent Derek Morgan that he was anything less than perfect and so he attempted again to pull himself up off the floor and walk. The wall was a good help here. One hand on the wall and one hand on the shoulder of his daughter he walked slowly onwards.

"We really need to be quicker, man. Let me help you." Derek moved to take the place of Rosa.

Floyd turned his head slowly towards Morgan and just stared. It was enough to get him to back off a bit.

"I can – I can do this." And again he was on his knees. He put a hand to his chest where he had been shot and pressed it hard. "I will be – I will be fine. Just let me do this." He used the dado rail on the wall to pull him self up to his feet again. For a while he just stood with his eyes closed. His head spinning. "Shit my face hurts." And his hand left Rosa to touch the side of his face.

Morgan saw him begin to slide along the wall and his knees buckle under him again. He moved forward and put his hands under Floyd's arms keeping him upright.

"I don't care if you can do this or not Flanders. You're not doing it fast enough. We need to move now." He got no resistance as he took over from Rosa and pulled Floyd's arm over his shoulder and walked them faster down the corridor. Rossi picked up Rosa and walked on next to them.

Armed officers were standing outside the room when they arrived and they let them into the room they were meant to be safe in.

As soon as they were in the door Floyd pulled his arm away from Morgan and allowed himself to fall back to the floor. "Leave me now. Just go and leave me. Rosa – here girl – let me hold you."

"There is a bedroom." Rossi let him know.

"I want to stay here. Go – leave me." He put his arms out for Rosa who let Floyd pull her down next to him as he rolled over onto his side and curled up protectively around his girl.

Morgan and Rossi left them there for now and made sure the door was secured. Then they checked out the rest of the apartment. They stood for a while and listened to the strange noises coming from the two people laying curled up around each other on the floor.

"There is something really not right about that." Morgan stood and looked at them.

"This is not the norm for him?" Rossi stood and watched with him.

Derek shook his head. "I personally have never seen him like this before – Never seen him this weak before."

-o-o-o-

A pile of bloody soggy clothing was dropped in front of Aaron. He was sure his heart stopped beating for a while as he looked at Reid's shirt and the one green and one blue sock dropped on the top.

"We mean business Hotchner."

"I won't bend to your threats. Anything you could have used against me here you have destroyed. There is nothing else you can do. You murdered an innocent young man to try to get your own way. Well it's done. You haven't got the girl. There is nothing else Floyd holds that dear to him. You made a bad mistake doing that. He doesn't have feelings for me beyond the fact I was comfort to Reid."

He would have continued but a sudden noise from the bathroom made him stop. He tried to get up and move to see what they were doing but was pushed back to the wall again. "Where do you think you are going Hotchner?"

"What in hells name are you doing?" The sounds of hacking and sawing were coming from the echoing bathroom.

"Getting lunch ready. Nice and tender and no fat. Oh my – the thought is making my mouth water." Iolanda wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "I wanted a taste of him before, but he was so diseased and rotting from the insides but that's all changed now!" He kissed his finger tips. "You will join me for lunch Hotchner."

Aaron leaned forward and brought up anything he had in his stomach onto the floor in front of him.

"That Hotchner, is very bad manners. Are you refusing my invitation?"

"You are insane if you think I am going to devour parts of Reid."

"Then I am insane." He pushed Reid's clothing out of the way and sat down on the floor next to Aaron. "You see, you will deliver my message to Flanders senior or you will be forced to eat various body parts."

"I won't deliver your message. He won't give you his daughter."

"I can – however – hold you down and force you to eat tender parts of the man you let die."

-o-o-o-

When Morgan's phone bleeped his snatched it off his belt and spoke quickly. "You have good news for me Baby Girl?"

'_I found where Reid booked in.'_

He took the information from her and looked over at Rossi. "Now what? We can't leave these two here alone."

"You stay here with him. I will go with SWAT to find Reid and maybe Hotchner. I'll send an officer in here with you. Can you persuade him to get up and move to the bedroom or something?"

Derek watched Rossi leave and the officer join them. The door was once again secured from the inside.

"Stay by the door. Let nobody in." The officer nodded and took up guard position to the side of the door. Morgan went to Floyd and Rosa. "I really need you two to move."

A hand from Floyd moved out from around Rosa towards Morgan. "Where to?"

"Just across the hallway. You are in the line of fire here, man. Rosa is in danger if you stay here."

The hand returned to Rosa and started to push her away. "Go with Derek sweetheart. I will follow."

Reluctantly she got to her feet and followed Morgan through the open doorway. He moved slowly. Not able yet to get to his feet. His brain not functioning properly. His body not doing what his brain was asking it to do. Derek came back and took hold of an arm.

"There is no shame in being injured. Let me help."

He looked up at Morgan. "Something has happened to Spence. I can feel it. We are losing him Derek."

Derek half dragged Floyd to the bedroom and hauled him onto the bed. He lay where Morgan put him. "They are on their way over there now Flanders. You just worry about yourself right now. Get yourself better – quickly. Is there anything you need?" But it seemed already that the two of them were lost again in their own world – tangled up together and holding on tightly.

-o-o-o-

He held a cell phone in one hand and a strip of meat in the other.

"Make the call."

Hotch just stared at the thing in front of him. He thought Floyd was bad. He thought he would never meet anything so twisted and vile as him, but this? This was beyond anything.

"Make the call or have lunch with me." Aaron watched him slide the bit of raw flesh into his mouth and then chew slowly. "Sweet. He tastes so sweet. Please join me. A final goodbye."

Had Hotch wanted to say something he would have been unable to. If he had opened his mouth then he would have screamed and the scream would have been eternal. He knew if he started now he would never stop. He couldn't let this man see how close he was to breaking.

"Make a call."

"No."

He was pushed back onto the floor – laying partly in Reid's clothing and partly in his own vomit. They put feet on his hand and on he knees and someone tried to force open his mouth.

Aaron looked up at the slither of meat held above him. "Open up Hotchner. Say goodbye to Reid." A kick in the groin finally forced Aaron to open his mouth in a long drawn out scream of horror as the slither of meat slipped between his lips.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13 Spare Ribs

Spare Ribs

_He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend - provided, of course, that he really is dead: - __Voltaire _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

* * *

"Agent Derek Morgan!"

The shout came from Flanders. He sounded slurred and tired. Derek moved quickly from the small kitchen he had been in getting a drink of water to the room Floyd and Rosa were in. He was dragging himself off the bed and half crawling onto the floor.

"Take me to him. I need to go to him now. Before it is too late."

Rosa was sitting up on the pillows her back to the wall – her hands over her mouth and watching Floyd is big wet tear filled eyes.

"I can't take you there Floyd. You are here being protected from them – there is no way I can deliver you."

"He will die." Rosa's small voice was full of fear. "You have to. I will go back to Iolanda – just help my daddy. Please help my daddy."

Floyd was pulling himself up to stand. "See – all better. Now take me to him."

"Floyd man, if I blow on you – you will fall down. I can't take you. I am here to protect you from them." Derek started to walk towards Floyd with the intention of dragging him back to the bed.

"Then your protection will kill me and Spence and then Rosa. You must take me there now. Rosa will stay here with your men."

"Daddy! No! I want to come with you! You need me."

-o-o-o-

A hand now clamped over Aaron's face preventing him from spitting out his prize.

"Swallow it! You will be surprised how good it is." Iolanda smiled down at Aaron who stared back with eyes which showed his soul. "Come on Hotchner – surely you don't want to spit him out? Surely you don't want to reject his last gift to you?"

He could feel it in his mouth. A small bit of something. It might have been Reid. It might be anything. Aaron didn't know. He just knew that if he did swallow it he would bring it straight back up again and the horror of regurgitating Spencer was as unbearable as having the feeling of this in his mouth.

"Water – bring him some water. I think he needs some help here." Hotch could hear giggling as a sports beaker was brought over. The spout was forced between Aaron's lips and the water emptied into his mouth. He had no option. Now he had to swallow. He felt the slither of something slide down the back of his throat – pushed down by the water and immediately he started to gag and retch on the tiny piece of meat. Aaron moved his head from side to side trying to stop them from covering his mouth again. He felt tears of disgust and anger creeping out of his eyes and racing down the sides of his face.

Hotch attempted to pull his hands out from under the feet holding them in place but the harder he pulled the harder the trod down on him. He felt a finger snap and the sudden warmth covering his hands told him that the skin was broken and ripped. He stopped struggling and lay staring at Iolanda. What he saw was beyond anything he could have imagined. Iolanda stood with a rib bone in his hand, slowly nibbling off the bits of flesh still sticking to it. A look of absolute ecstasy drifting across his face and soft moaning sounds of unadulterated pleasure.

It was now that Hotch felt the dark of unconsciousness finally release him from this nightmare.

-o-o-o-

"I can't leave the girl here alone. Not without one of us being here." Morgan stood looking at the two peculiar people.

"She will be fine."

"I will be fine – but I still want to come with you." Her voice was coming out in jumpy sniffles.

Floyd looked over at the small child wiping snot off her face with the hem of her dirty dress. "Just kill anything which comes though this door you know not to be safe. Understand?"

A little nod. "I understand."

Once out of the room away from the child Flanders turned to Derek. "I need a knife. Something very sharp."

"Don't you use your teeth?" a puzzled look on Morgan's handsome face.

"I need something else for this. Teeth are not enough. Something to hack with. Quickly. We are running out of time." Floyd leaned on the wall and watched Morgan rush back to the kitchen. He returned with a bread knife.

"It's the best I could do."

"Messy, but it will have to do. Get me to Iolanda. Quickly."

With a knife in one hand and the other wrapped around Floyd's waist the two of them made their way to Morgan's car. He could feel that Floyd was hardly walking now. His legs kept folding under him and his head down. Morgan could also hear the laboured breathing.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You can get up and crawl away with your brain missing. What's going on?"

"Just get me to Spence. Before it's too late." Flanders voice was not much more than a whisper. "I can help to heal him but you need to get me there before rigor sets in."

"I beg your pardon? What – Just what the – you sonofabitch – what are you implying."

"Don't make me waste my energy explaining. Just get me to him."

Derek helped him into the passenger seat and ran around to the driver's side. Floyd sat with his feet up on the seat in front of him and wrapped his arms tightly around his legs, resting his head on his knees. His hair was still partly tied back by the ribbon Spencer had left out for him the night before. Back when things seemed almost normal. Morgan felt like he should be doing something. The urge to just hold Flanders and give him some comfort from all of this crap passed through his mind and then just as quickly out again. He shuddered at the sudden thought and started the SUV.

He drove like a maniac. He put on the lights and he sounded the horn. He didn't slow for anything.

"I wish I knew what the hell was going on." Morgan rushed out.

Floyd turned his head and looked at him. "I failed."

-o-o-o-

When the hand was eventually removed from his face there was nothing Aaron could do. As the weights left his hands and legs he turned onto his side and brought up the water and bits of something else. The sight made him squeeze his eyes shut and make a silent prayer to what ever was out there that this wasn't what they told him it was.

He was so violently sick that water came from his nose as his stomach cramped and heaved rejecting everything and anything which might be there. This was probably – in Aaron's mind – that he wished he was dead rather than have to feel what he was feeling in his mind, body and soul. He knew deep down that they had succeeded in their plan to break him and now with this new found knowledge he was convinced that the thing Iolanda was chewing on couldn't be Spencer. If their plan was to break him in this manner then there was no need to kill Reid, just make him believe they had.

Aaron looked up at Iolanda. What his plan was now Aaron didn't know. There were no more threats he could make and he was no closer to taking the child back into his small world of depravity.

"What's wrong Hotchner?"

Iolanda took a step closer. Hotch could smell the bone he had in his hand and immediately he started to heave and gag again.

"Come on Hotchner. I thought you were such a big man. I thought there was no breaking someone like you. You are quite a disappointment." He bent forward slightly and ran the rib over his face. "Fancy a bite? A lick? A little nibble? Come on! Stop rejecting the poor man. Take him into you. Let him be a part of your forever. What is your problem?"

Aaron lay still. He wanted to brush away the thing running over his cheek, but the thought of touching it was too much to bear.

"You've had your fun. You didn't get the girl back. What are you going to do now? You have played all your cards."

Iolanda crouched down on the floor and smiled. "Well I intend cooking him up. I do like my kebabs. Then obviously I will boil his pretty head in my big black pot. Do you know that cooking the brain in the skull preserves the taste so much better? Check that one with Flanders – he showed me that trick. There is also the thing about that wonderful intelligence. I will be devouring his mind. I will learn all he knew. Imagine that Hotchner!"

"You are insane." Hotch tried to push him self up to sit.

"That might be true, but it will be me with the Reid skin belt and accessories and you with nothing." He started to walk away when all hell broke loose.

The door to the room suddenly burst open and armed men flowed through the door. Hotch rolled over and kept close to the wall. If there was going to be gunfire he needed to be as far out of the line of fire as he could. As he rolled he moved over Reid's sodden clothing. A wail of despair left his lips as he grabbed them and curled up holding them close to him. They stank of blood and other bodily fluids but they were Spencer's and again Aaron's heart broke and the humiliating end the man he was meant to protect had met.

He listened to the gun shots. He heard shouts and he heard things which he presumed were Iolanda's people falling to the floor. He hoped – but Aaron knew that unlike Floyd, these people were armed.

During all the shouting and noise someone touched Aaron on the shoulder. "Aaron?" Dave's voice. He couldn't look at him. He couldn't let Dave Rossi see what these animals had reduced him to and so he lay still trying to get his body and mind under control again. "Aaron it's over. We are here." Very slowly and taking deep breaths so as not to let Rossi see his distress he turned over. His eyes caught sight of a rib bone laying forgotten on the grubby and now blood stained carpet.

He used Rossi to pull up into a sitting position not taking his eyes off the thing on the floor and he could hear – "Oh god – oh no." Being shouted from the bathroom.

Aaron put his head down and pulled his knees in tightly and wept silent tears.

Rossi walked quickly to the bathroom to see what had been found.

Laying on the floor was a bloodied knife and an equally bloodied saw, some pliers and a chisel and a small hammer. Everything was covered in blood. The SWAT team member was throwing up down the toilet. Rossi looked at him and then into the bathtub. A noise at the door made him turn around to see Aaron standing there leaning on the door.

"R Reid?"

Rossi took Aaron by the arm and tried to manoeuvre him out of the doorway. "There is nothing we can do here Aaron. I need you to go and see the medics." He caught Hotch as his legs gave way under him and all went dark again.

SWAT helped Hotch out of the motel room and over to the arriving ambulances as Morgan's SUV screeched into the parking area in front of the motel.

Rossi turned back to look in the bathtub again. He rested fingers gently on Spencer's neck and then swept his hand down over his staring terrified eyes.

-o-o-o-

For the past mile of so Floyd had been howling and chanting in a language Morgan didn't have the slightest clue of. He could see the sweat standing out on Floyds brow. As he sat up and put his feet on the floor he wiped a small dribble of blood from his nose and pulled from his pocket a smoke. He lit it with a slender silver lighter and took deep noxious lung fulls of the vile thing. The more he took in the more awake and with it he seemed to be.

"I don't care what they say when we arrive. I can fix this. I will fix this. You need to do something in return."

"I'm listening." Morgan opened his window. The smoke was making him feel light headed.

"Iolanda. You must remove his head. With the knife. Take his head. Completely."

"If he is there he will be arrested and dealt with using the correct procedure. I'm not taking any man's head off Flanders."

"Understood." Floyd sat now staring out of the window smoking and mumbling in an unknown language.

As the SUV pulled up Floyd was opening the car door and jumping out before the vehicle had stopped. He glanced over at Hotch and caught the look on his face. Total defeat. A lost person.

He was still finding walking difficult but managed to get as far as the motel room door before he felt his legs giving way again. An arm around him stopped him falling completely. He took in a deep breath and looked behind him. "Derek. Stay here."

"What? No, man. You need help. Whatever it is you are doing - you need help."

A nod and Flanders accepted the arm and started to walk into the room. He looked over at Rossi who was shaking his head at Morgan and then glanced down at the thing laying on the floor. He bent down and picked up the rib.

"Uncle Iolanda – you bastard. You son of a bitch whore dog. I will see you burn in your own private hell for this." Though the anger was there in his actual words they were muttered under his breath. He carried on staggering towards the bathroom but a hand was placed on his chest and again Rossi was shaking his head only this time at Floyd.

"You don't want to go in there. It's too late."

"It's not too late. I can feel he is still there. Let me go to him." He swiped Dave's hand out of the way and started to walk forward again. Morgan continued to hold him upright. It seemed that the closer they got to Spencer the weaker he got.

-o-o-o-

He was floating in a dark place full of nothing but dull pain.

His mind was closed to everything and his soul was waiting ready to leave.

Something was holding him back.

Calling him back towards the greater pain.

Spencer wanted – needed to get away from this place.

Away from the guilt of letting Aaron down.

As far away from the hurt he had caused as he could.

Yet out there someone was calling him back again.

He tried pushing past this barrier and escaping – but it was like a thin silver thread was slowly winding him back in again.

The more he pulled away from it the tighter it pulled him back again.

Reid begged for forgiveness. The only reason he would still be here was a punishment.

No body could take this amount of punishment and not fail.

Something somewhere was touching his face and his chest.

Something – someone was talking soft words to him and pulling in his bond.

Something was giving part of them to him.

As the pain increased the closer the got back to where he started he realised he could smell something. Something other than death and blood and hatred and fear – he could smell something heady and musky. He could feel hands moving over him taking away some of the pain.

-o-o-o-

Rossi and Morgan watched as Floyd slid over the side of the tub down next to the ripped up body laying there cooling in the filthy blood coloured water. They heard his voice muttering strange words and they saw his hands moving over the pale skin. They could see where the ex agent had been cut open and a rib removed. The rib Floyd now had clasped in his hand. They could see the way Spencer's face had been broken and they watched Floyd pressing his hand hard on the Reid's chest.

They shouted for medics when the gentle rise and fall of Spencer's chest could be seen and they watched Floyd's hands moving over Reid's head and now to his abdomen.

-o-o-o-

Spencer could feel someone kissing the back of his neck and telling him everything was going to be alright. He felt Floyd wrap himself around him. Entwining his body with his own and then everything went black and stopped.

* * *


	14. Chapter 14 How To Get A Head

How To Get A Head 

_There's nothing so improves the mood of the Party as the imminent execution of a senior colleague: - __Alan Clark _

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine

**A/N: I hate hospital dramas. I have no medical background and so all hospitally stuff is skimmed over. All errors are because in the end this is fiction and not real life. Sorry about that!!**

* * *

They assumed they needed a body bag.

They were wrong.

They assumed they would take them to hospital separately.

They were wrong there too. Floyd's limbs had locked around Reid's so tightly they would have had to break his bones to get him to let go. Eventually they managed to lift them as one and get them to the ambulance. It wasn't expected that Reid would survive the journey and again they attempted to persuade Floyd to let go and let them do what the needed to do. If he was listening – if he was able to listen he gave no indication of it.

When they got to the hospital they managed to get enough people there to pull the grasping finger and hands and legs away from the mashed thing he was holding so tightly onto.

Reid was rushed to surgery.

Floyd was left on a chair in A and E. Forgotten. For now.

-o-o-o-

Aaron lay and stared at the ceiling. Small tears were released from the corners of his eyes. It might have been the light in the room, or it might have been the memories.

Rossi sat with him.

He talked quietly to him.

"Reid is in surgery. I don't know how long it will be. He took a lot of damage. They're still not sure why he isn't dead. He should be."

But Rossi had no idea of that feeling Aaron had in his mouth. That slither of Spencer sliding down the back of his throat. A feeling he thought would be there forever. Dave didn't understand why Aaron couldn't talk to him. If he opened his mouth – just a small amount he would start screaming again and that would mean Iolanda had won. That would mean he was broken and Hotch wasn't ready to admit defeat just yet.

Prentiss came in to say hello. She was on crutches but had been lucky – as lucky as someone getting shot trying to protect Floyd could possibly be. She sat with Aaron for a while and spoke of nothing important.

Pen brought in some 'get well soon' ice cream and Morgan. They stood around not sure what to say. What was there to say? They all wanted to know the same answer. Was Reid going to make it out of surgery?

-o-o-o-

This wasn't the answer Floyd was looking for. He awoke on the chair with no Spencer and only one thought in his mind. This would never happen again. Ever. He would put a stop to it now. He slipped a wallet from the rear pocket of some guy asking for directions at reception and then left the hospital. He didn't ask how Spencer was. He didn't go and visit Hotch. He needed to be somewhere and he needed to be there fast.

The cab pulled up outside a nice looking single story yellow dwelling. He cab driver was given his fare and a generous tip. Floyd stood in his driveway looking at the house. He tried. He really had tried this time to make it good. To give Spencer what he wanted and it all fell apart again. Like always because of – well because of someone else.

He walked to the front door and pushed it open. It stank and it was dark. The cloying stench of death hung over the place now. He would have to remove the skins from the workshop – he had left them to rot. Leaving the front door open to let out some of the smell he walked quickly to the door at the rear of the kitchen. The workshop had counters around the edges. It had a cooker and a pot. It had an oven and it had drawers in the worktops. He pulled open one of the drawers and removed something. Floyd stuffed it in his pocket and then turned to leave. Someone was standing in the doorway. Floyd just stood and stared at the middle aged neighbour.

"I was wondering." She started.

"Wondering what?" He put a hand on her shoulder and started to push her out of the workshop and back into the kitchen.

"If you needed a housekeeper."

"Does it look like I need a housekeeper?" Almost finding this amusing.

"Well.."

"How are you with cleaning up blood? The bathroom is covered in it."

"Well..."

"Thought as much. Good day to you madam but I have no use for your services. Get out of my house before I say or do something and I don't have time for it now."

"Well!" She turned and left. Floyd watched to make sure she had gone and then picked up keys off the side. He threw them in the air and caught them in his hand with a smile on his face.

"Time to finish this." He got a fresh supply of smokes and a few twists of cellophane – just a comfort to have in his pocket and then left. Rosa was forgotten. Spencer was forgotten. Hotchner: forgotten. A carrier bag was stuffed into a pocket. There was one thing on his mind now and it took up every tiny molecule in his psyche. Every electrical impulse in his brain was directed solely towards that one thing. Ending it.

Flanders pulled his bike out of the garage and with a bullet still lodged somewhere in his head and a blood soaked waistcoat he hauled arse and left the street with a howl of rage.

-o-o-o-

They had the rib with had been sawn from Spencer. It had teeth marks in it. The staff looked at each other with dawning horror as it was prepared to be screwed back into place.

They had teeth which they might be able to use once they had reconstructed the jaw.

They were able to repair the damage done to his hand and they looked at the mad stitching holding the skin together on his arm. If further damage had been done to the eye they wouldn't know. Not yet. This broken torn and mashed person had to have a chance to recover before they would know things like that. Small chips of bone were removed from the brain. Some looked on keeping this young man alive as a challenge and some looked at it as one horrific accident followed by another.

He was repaired. He was breathing. They had restarted his heart a few times. They had been prepared to call an end to it twice but he continued to fight. They had called 'clear' and watched him jerk alive again and heard the bleep of the machines telling them to keep going. It wasn't over yet. This wouldn't be over for this person for a long time. If he ever woke up.

-o-o-o-

It was wrapped around his fist ready as he entered the police station. He smoked a special smoke and breathed the fumes in people's faces. He pulled his hair back with the length of velvet ribbon.

They wanted to check him for weapons. He smiled at them and put out his arms for them to search. They smiled back at him as he ran his hand over the metal detector and entered without a problem.

"Special Agent Franks."

He introduced himself as. He blew smoke in faces and they smiled at him and took him to where he needed to be. He left wafts of his special smell behind him as he walked towards the room they were holding the person he needed in.

"Do you need anyone with you Agent Franks?" The detective asked. "He is secured as we were told – with flexicuffs."

"That will be fine. I just need a short while with him."

They didn't go away though. They stood in a slightly fuddled huddle outside the room they directed him towards.

Floyd entered the room and asked the officer at the door to leave. "I will call you if you are needed." He let him know. More smoke. More smells. A look up at the security camera as the red light stopped blinking.

He closed the door behind the officer and walked up behind Iolanda.

"One time too many you messed with me. You took one step too far this time." He unwound the thing in his hand.

"Now now Floyd – no way to talk to me. I am your superior. You will do as you are told. So be a good boy and release me from these damned bonds."

"You see that isn't going to happen. Call this a mutiny – a coup – whatever, but you went too far Iolanda and now it ends. For good."

The older man didn't move. He sat staring ahead of him. "You wouldn't dare. You need me. You need us."

Floyd took a step closer. "That is where you are wrong. You know what I need and I won't permit you to take it from me. It is mine. He is mine. She is mine. They are all mine."

He wrapped the wire around Iolanda's throat and pulled. It sliced back quickly. The only real mess made was the pretty blood spray patterns. The only noise made was the gentle 'swoosh' of the wire cutting the neck. He twisted it until it would go no further and then let go of the wire. He took Iolanda by the shoulder and by the hair and twisted until the neck snapped and the head parted company with the body. One hand held the hair another pulled out the carrier bag and slipped the decapitated head into the bag.

Floyd left in a cloud of smoke leaving the confused police officers behind. Right now he didn't care if they caught him – not really – what would they do? Cuff him and tell him off for killing the man who tried to eat his true love?

He slipped the bag in the pannier and drove off towards the safe house.

-o-o-o-

She could hear him calling her. With her ears and with her mind she heard him. She jumped down from the bed where she had been all this time and moved to be near the door.

"Can you go back to your room miss." A command from someone she was going to ignore.

"My daddy is on his way. I'ma gonna wait right here."

"Your daddy? On his way here?" Nervous looks.

"Oh don't be so bloody pathetic. He wants me not you. Open the door."

-o-o-o-

They rode together. She held on tightly around his waist and they took the bike somewhere quiet and safe.

The river was shallow and the rocks stuck up out of it creating stepping stones across the water.

He removed his boots and his waistcoat and shirt. She removed her dress and then wrapped her father's shirt around her waist.

He crouched down on a rock with the bag in his hand. She moved over and sat cross legged on another leaving a large flat rock jutting up between them.

She smiled at him and he smiled back as he removed the head from the bag.

After cracking open the back of the skull the dipped bloodied fingers in and took little handfuls and small pinches of nourishment and they chanted and rocked and smiled.

The whole process took just over two hours. Once it was complete Floyd placed the smashed item on a rock and left it for the animals. If they wanted it.

It was over. They had done it. Now to get back and sort out Spencer and Aaron.

-o-o-o-

Hotch lay in the dimly lit room. As the two guests arrived Dave turned and looked at them. Floyd had his bloodied waistcoat back on and buttoned up double breasted. His hair hung in dirty clumps around his face and the velvet ribbon was wrapped around his wrist. Rosa had on her father's shirt. It was blood stained and ripped. Rossi raised an eyebrow. Somehow they suited each other.

"We need some time with Hotchner." Floyd walked in pushing the child ahead of him. "Alone – and then you need to get me in to see Spence."

Rossi stood up. "I can give you time here Flanders, but getting you in to see Reid might be more complicated."

Floyd nodded. "I understand the situation Agent David Rossi – this is why it is important that I get to see him as soon as I can – and Agent Emily Prentiss – when she is next around I will need to be seeing her too."

Rossi stood in front of the two of them and spoke quietly in his distinctive Chicago accent. "You are not in charge here Flanders. Do not come in here making demands of my agents. I don't know what you did earlier or how you did it, but this business with Iolanda will not just go away."

Floyd pushed Rosa past Rossi but didn't move. "I have no idea what you are talking about with Iolanda and I am just trying to help your agents Agent David Rossi. I merely wished to thank Emily for protecting my daughter. I was not making demands." He looked over Dave's shoulder to the scene on the bed. "This is sorted now. Take me to Spencer. I need to help him."

Rossi turned to look at Hotch.

-o-o-o-

Aaron could hear muttering and muted voices. People were being careful not to talk to loudly which was good, but maybe if they had spoken up he would have had the courage to open his mouth and let rip the feelings welling up inside.

The smell of sugar and apples and candyfloss snuck up his nose as he felt the light weight of someone small clambering on the bed next to him.

"It's ok Aaron. I'm here. Take some from me and use it." A voice whispered in his ear.

He could feel tiny hands moving over his battered and bruised body. Hotch moaned and rolled over onto his side. The most dramatic thing he had done since he had been brought in. The skinny arms wrapped around as best they could and a hand rested above his heart.

"Just think of me as a bandage Aaron." A child's hot sweet breath on the back of his neck and suddenly everything didn't seem so bad. They had got away. Spencer was not dead. Iolanda was in custody and Rosa – well Rosa was going to make it all better. He opened his eyes and took the child's hand.

"Rosa – you shouldn't be here."

"Daddy showed me what to do so he can go help Spence. It's alright you don't have to touch me. I will keep my clothes on. Just lay still and let me help."

"You will keep your clothes on?"

"Oh daddy told me to – but I can take them off if you would rather."

He felt her start to pull away from him. "Good god – no – no Rosa – keep your clothes on – but there really should be someone else here with us."

"Don't worry so much Aaron. I said you don't have to touch me. Just sleep."

Although his mind was screaming that this was very wrong. It was also feeling the comfort of being held and somehow the horrors started to slide away as his eyes drifted shut again.

Floyd smiled. "He is right though. I don't want him getting into trouble for child abuse. You stay here. I will find Spencer." He backed away from Rossi. "Keep my daughter safe Agent David Rossi." He turned and walked away.

Rossi looked at the back of Floyd who seemed steady on his feet again and then returned to the room. He sat and watched the small child's hands resting still on the chest of the distressed Agent.

-o-o-o-

He could still feel that line pulling at him. It was thicker now. More like twisted silver rope.

He wasn't sure where he was but it was somewhere though dark seemed devoid of anything even slightly monstrous.

He couldn't move.

He couldn't open his eyes.

He couldn't even lick his lips.

He wondered if he could even really breathe.

A familiar feeling – the feeling of a machine forcing his lungs to work.

A sound he knew well – the bleeps and murmurings of the machines checking that all his parts were still moving and doing that which they should.

Spencer wanted to move his fingers but they didn't want to move for him. So he lay in the bleeping and hissing darkness and waiting for something. Either for the rope to release him back to where he kept feeling he needed to go or for it to pull him back completely and lock in place.

A different sound. He could hear it but his mind wouldn't work out what it was.

A sensation. Something soft touching his face.

-o-o-o-

He had to do what he didn't want to. He had to threaten the staff. He had to use words he would rather not have but used them anyway. So the sonsofbitches whore dogs and slags eventually let him in to see Spencer. They did say they would call security. He told them to do inhumanly impossible things with their mothers and close relations.

So now he was here standing next to the bed of someone who he would have not given a second glance to. This was not recognisable as his Spence. This was a swollen battered dying face. He could see the bruises where they had reconstructed his jaw. All the work had been done from inside the mouth. Floyd had been expecting Spencer's face to be a mess of sutures and wires but it just looked very battered. His eyes had been taped shut to stop them drying out. The old scar on his throat had been re-opened and a tube was stuck through his flesh down towards his lungs so his face could heal.

Floyd brushed fingers over Reid's face.

"Hey babes."

He walked around the bed and ran his dirty fingers through Spencer's long wavy hair.

"I'm going to make it feel better for you."

Floyd climbed up onto the bed next to Reid and gave him light kisses on a white shoulder.

He wrapped his arms tightly around his treasure and entwined his legs with Spencer's. He rested his head on Reid's shoulder and let his special smell waft up Reid's nose.

The pain was like nothing he had the honour of taking before. It made Floyd's eyes water. It made whimpering keening sounds escape from Floyd's slightly open mouth as he took in some of Spencer's pain.

-o-o-o-

Morgan had been called.

Someone was in Reid's room and refused to leave. He had been rude and threatening.

Now he stood in the doorway and looked at the two of them.

The young man he had tormented and teased and the slightly older one who he hated and wished dead so many times and now he was just glad they were both there and alive and together. He watched Reid move a hand and place it over Floyd's and squeeze and he saw toes on two pairs of feet curl and uncurl.

He left with strict instructions that they were not to be disturbed unless it was a medical reason.

His back was turned when the one single tear slipped unbidden from Floyd's eye and onto Reid's chest.

-o-o-o-

* * *

**A/N: Nearly the end methinks….well for this section anyway. I really do think the boys need a nice holiday away from it all. A proper holiday! Once they are better obviously :cD Thank you all. **

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